Shell Drops Out of Arguable Offshore Project

Royal Dutch Shell has withdrawn from a controversial oil project near Scotland’s Shetland Islands, mentioning economic reasons.

In the Cambo project, Shell had a 30% stake, which has been opposed by environmental groups who argue that the UK should stop developing new oil and gas fields as part of an attempt to fight global warming.

“After comprehensive screening of the proposed Cambo development, we have concluded the economic case for investment in this project is not strong enough at this time,” Shell said in a statement. “However, continued investment in oil and gas in the U.K. remains critical to the country’s energy security.”

Cambo’s controlling partner, Siccar Point Energy, confirmed that the project would go forward as planned on Tuesday. The development of the field 125 kilometres (78 miles) west of the Shetland Islands will create 1,000 jobs and help the United Kingdom transition to a low-carbon economy, Chief Executive Jonathan Roger said in a statement.

“We will continue to engage with the U.K. government and wider stakeholders on the future development of Cambo,” he said.

During the 25-year lifespan of the Cambo field, Siccar Point estimates that it will produce up to 170 million barrels of oil and 53.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

Original source material for this article taken from here