Comedian Frankie Boyle will host a public panel in Edinburgh ahead of the beginning of a legal challenge against the Rosebank oil field development.

Permission was granted in 2023 by the Conservative government to drill in the untapped field off Shetland, despite the objections of environmental groups.

Uplift and Greenpeace UK both applied to the Court of Session in Edinburgh for judicial reviews of the decisions made by the energy secretary and by the oil and gas regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), to grant consent.

In August the new Labour government announced it would not fight the challenge, with the owners of Rosebank, Norwegian state-owned oil giant, Equinor, and its partner, UK-based Ithaca Energy, to defend the licence.

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The hearing will begin on Tuesday November 12, with Mr Boyle to host a panel at the Playfair Library in Edinburgh to discuss ‘Big Oil in Court: Rosebank and the Fight for the North Sea’ the night before.

The panellists will delve into the case against Rosebank and its international significance, as well as discuss the future of the North Sea oil and gas industry as the UK stands on the precipice of a green transition. 

Pannelists will include Tessa Khan, climate lawyer and executive director of Uplift, Lauren MacDonald, the lead campaigner at Stop Rosebank, Dr Ewan Gibbs, an energy historian at the University of Glasgow, and the former SNP MP for Edinburgh East Tommy Sheppard.

(Image: Archive) If Uplift and Greenpeace are successful in their challenges, the owners will be forced to resubmit environmental assessments and the development would likely only go ahead if the UK government issues a new licence consistent with the law.

The Court of Session agreed to hear the case for a judicial review on all of the grounds argued. 

The application argues that the UK government failed to take into account the “scope three” downstream emissions from burning Rosebank’s oil and gas and their contribution to climate change. 

It further states that the Energy Secretary’s consent for Rosebank was based on Equinor’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which deliberately excluded consideration of downstream emissions. It says this is irrational: “Carbon emissions will be an inevitable consequence of allowing extraction. The hydrocarbons would not be extracted if they were not going to be consumed.”  

They also highlight what they say are breaches of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, and argue that the North Sea Transition Authority’s approval of Rosebank was procedurally unfair and irrational because it gave no reasons for giving its consent.

The Rosebank project estimated to produce up to 500 million barrels of oil equivalent over its lifetime.

Campaigners say it will emit more CO² than the world’s 28 lowest-income countries combined do in a year, while doing nothing to reduce energy bills as most of its oil and gas will be exported.

The UK Government admitted in January "due to UK refinery specifications and global market conditions, around 80% of the oil produced in the UK is refined overseas". Equinor says energy will "ultimately end up in the UK grid".

The hearing will run from November 12 to 15, with a decision to be issued within three months.

Earlier this month, more than 250 organisations and individuals, including the former Archbishop of Canterbury, signed an open letter urging Sir Keir Starmer to scrap Rosebank entirely if the Court of Session rules in favour of Greenpeace and Uplift.

A spokesperson for Equinor said: "Equinor – in principle – does not comment on ongoing litigation. Equinor welcomed regulatory approvals for the Rosebank development in 2023 and will continue to work closely with all relevant parties to progress the project.

"It is vital for the UK and will bring benefits in terms of local investment, jobs and energy security."