The UK government had barely finished congratulating itself on approving gas production from the Jackdaw field in the North Sea before attention shifted to Rosebank, the larger, more emissions-heavy, and considerably more lucrative oil field now sitting on Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh's desk. Because nothing says "moving on" like immediately teeing up an even bigger controversy.
BBC journalists became the first to visit Rosebank by helicopter, arriving days before Storm Boelo showed up with strong winds and heavy rain, because nothing says "scrutinise a controversial project" like doing it in a force-nine gale. The field sits 80 miles north west of Shetland, and the installation is not a fixed platform like Jackdaw (150 miles east of Aberdeen) but a floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) named the Petrojarl Rosebank, chartered from Aberdeen-based Altera. It rolls gently on the North Atlantic swell, which is a polite way of saying it never, ever stops moving.
Nicola Boyd, who runs the helideck and has worked offshore for nearly a decade - including a year on Rosebank, on a two-weeks-on, three-weeks-off rotation - greeted the team as they wrestled out of their lifejackets and survival suits. "It's good fun, it's interesting, every day can change," she said, presumably while standing perfectly still on a deck that was doing its best to imitate a rollercoaster.
Lead mechanical technician Ewan Leonard, displaying the understatement typical of an Orkney islander, described winter weather as "a bit of a challenge." "Last week we had a 30m heave coming through," he said, referring to the swell, "so we'll probably suffer more of that as the winter goes on." Altera CEO Chris Brett noted that the environment west of Shetland is considered "as harsh as you get anywhere in the world," which is the industry equivalent of saying "it's fine, but bring a sick bag."
The 122 people on board possess deep reserves of skill, ingenuity, and engineering prowess, and the facilities are, by all accounts, excellent. "We have single-man cabins, there's good gym facilities, there's a lot of rec rooms here," said Leonard. Production supervisor Douglas Hogge added: "There's the gym, the sauna. You can obviously go and get some fresh air. There's plenty of fresh air out there." The food is fantastic, with chefs sending out braised ox cheek, mackerel, and pork loin day and night - and the nightshift apparently enjoys a breakfast of fillet steak and chocolate brownie pudding, because if you're going to work in a hurricane, you might as well do it on a full stomach.
The vessel rotates around a fixed central point called the turret to face into the weather, which is a bit like turning your face into a hairdryer and calling it strategy. If production is approved, oil and gas will be pumped up through the turret from wells containing an estimated 300m to 500m barrels - enough for perhaps 25 years. "For myself and a lot of the guys, that would see us out to retirement," said Hogge. "We need to see this approved."
Environmental campaigners disagree, and they have been trying to stop Rosebank for years, with some success. Consent was first granted under the Conservative government in 2023, but in 2025, after a challenge by Greenpeace and Uplift, the Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled the approvals of Rosebank and Jackdaw unlawful because they failed to account for the climate impact of actually burning the fossil fuels. Judge Lord Ericht said developers could carry on with work short of producing oil and gas while providing more detailed environmental assessments. Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift, called Rosebank "a disastrous decision and a terrible deal for ordinary people across this country," urging prime minister Andy Burnham to prioritise renewables in his re-industrialisation quest. "If the government's interested in building investor confidence, giving the green light to a major new oil field is going to do the opposite," she argued.
Whatever happens, the long-term trend for the industry is clear: decline. It's a quarter of a century since oil production peaked, and jobs in oil and gas have been disappearing much faster than they're being created in renewables like wind and solar. The oil from Rosebank would be loaded onto tankers via a gigantic hose and nozzle - looking like the super-sized pump of an enormous floating filling station - and sold on the international market, most likely to continental Europe for refining. Opponents say that proves the project benefits the UK little; supporters counter that UK and European energy markets are co-dependent and Rosebank will generate millions in tax for the Treasury.
Neil McCulloch, chief executive of Adura - which owns 80% of Rosebank and is a joint venture between Shell and Norwegian state energy firm Equinor - is optimistic. He notes Rosebank contains gas that would be piped to Shetland and on to the St Fergus terminal in Aberdeenshire, with the potential to heat 500,000 British homes at peak production. Approval, he argues, could pave the way for four more Jackdaw-sized gas developments west of Shetland: Tornado, Tornado East, Tobermory, and Suilven. "We would like to proceed with them," he said, presumably while eyeing the weather forecast nervously.
A surge in fossil fuel production is exactly what campaigners fear. Khan argues it would exacerbate the deadly and damaging impact of climate change for British teachers, nurses, firefighters, and families while making "huge profits for companies that are already incredibly profitable." The UK government decision - sources told BBC News it should come before Christmas - has created a strange mood at Rosebank. The Jackdaw decision encouraged many on board but also highlighted the jeopardy they face.
For now, workers focus on the job, with its strange rhythms and unusual restrictions - no popping to the shops, no alcohol, and a lot of special occasions missed. Steward Liam Davidson misses his French bulldog, Bailey, who waits at the heliport when he arrives. "My wee dog's at the heliport when I arrive," he said. "I do miss her." Nicola Boyd misses her double bed and a pizza delivery. "I love seeing the family, but for me, it's the pizza." But this time there might be a delay in delivering Boyd herself: as she helped the team into their survival suits, the Met Office issued an amber weather warning for much of Scotland. For Rosebank, it seems, there are stormy seas ahead, one way or another.