Britain has given the go-ahead for Oslo-listed energy company Equinor to develop the Rosebank oil and gas field in the North Sea, the government's oil and gas regulator on Wednesday.
Equinor holds a majority stake in Rosebank, which is one of the largest undeveloped oil and gas fields on the British continental shelf, and expects to produce 300 million barrels of oil from the field in its lifetime.
"We have today approved the Rosebank Field Development Plan which allows the owners to proceed with their project," the North Sea Transition Authority said in a statement.
Environmental campaigners had called on Britain's Conservative government to halt the development, arguing it contravenes Britain's plan for a net-zero economy.
Britain's Ithaca Energy is Equinor's partner on the project which lies north-west of Shetland. (Reporting by Sarah Young and William James; Editing by Kate Holton)
