Swinney refuses to say if he backs Rosebank oil field

Speaking to journalists in Holyrood, he said: "Well, that's the legal test that's got to be applied. So the UK Government's got to consider all those issues and come to that conclusion."

"That's the point I was making in parliament, that that's where they got to on Jackdaw, and I accept and support that conclusion," he added.

Gas from the field, around 150 miles off the coast of Aberdeen, will start flowing within weeks after the project was given the green light by the Secretary of State for Energy Miatta Fahnbulleh in an effort to improve domestic energy security and provide an economic boost.

She told The Herald there would be "no delay" on the Rosebank decision.

In 2023, in what was ultimately one of her final acts as First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon published the Scottish Government's draft energy strategy, which set out a presumption against new oil and gas exploration.

While the final version of that strategy has yet to materialise, ahead of May's election the First Minister signalled a shift in his party's position, saying energy security should be considered in any new decisions on further exploration, though he stopped short of backing Rosebank and Jackdaw.

Mr Swinney was was pressed by Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay four times to say whether he supports the development (Image: Getty/Jeff J Mitchell)

Earlier this month, delegates at the SNP conference in Aberdeen backed a motion brought by energy minister Stephen Gethins, which supported domestic energy production as "clearly preferable to importation".

It added that the "SNP should champion policies that safeguard Scottish jobs and skills, reduce reliance on imported fuels and use the economic benefits of Scotland's remaining oil and gas resources to help fund the transition to a net-zero economy".

Mr Swinney said the party's conference debate on energy policy had comprehensively backed the position he set out to parliament.

The future of Rosebank dominated First Minister's Questions.

Scottish Labour leader Michael Marra opened by saying he had told the UK Energy Secretary and the Chancellor in London this week that he supports Rosebank, and asked where the First Minister stood.

The First Minister said: "The process of consideration of the Rosebank application has got to be applied, but it's got to be applied by the quasi-judicial process that the Prime Minister talks about, where the implications of the consenting of that development has got to be compared with the importation of oil and gas."

Mr Swinney was later pressed by Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay four times to say whether he supports the development, but he referred back to his answer to Mr Marra.

Mr Findlay said it was "torture" attempting to get an answer from the First Minister, adding: "He's got opinions on Gaza, Israel, Russia, Iran, Europe, but not on the North Sea."

Pressed again, the First Minister said: "In the interest of explaining to Mr Findlay what I said to Mr Marra, there is a legal responsibility for every application to be considered and the carbon emissions that come out of the development of an individual site have to be assessed… as to whether it is compatible with our journey to net zero.

"That is the legal obligation and that is the test and the assessment the United Kingdom Government has got to go through."

Scottish Green co-leader Ross Greer said the UK Government seemed "intent" on approving Rosebank, and that the First Minister would back it if it passed "some kind of climate compatibility test".

Mr Greer said: "Is the First Minister genuinely suggesting that a monumental oil field could pass a climate test worth the paper it was written on?"

Mr Swinney replied: "The first thing I want to say is that the Government is committed to its agenda on climate action and on the legally binding targets that we have set, which is why I answered Mr Marra's questions in the way that I did.

"It is essential that any application that is taken forward for the development of oil and gas resources is able to be done in a fashion that is compatible with the legal obligations that we carry.

"Now, the issues that Mr Greer raises are issues that must be assessed as part of that process and must be done comprehensively, because we live in a context just now — and all our energy plans accept this — that for some time to come, we will still be using oil and gas.

"The question for us is whether we utilise resources in our own waters or we import those from other jurisdictions.

"That is the purpose of the climate compatibility test."

Meanwhile, the Office for Budget Responsibility will have to revisit its figures if Rosebank is refused, a UK energy minister has said.

The watchdog's forecast, published alongside the Budget, has oil and gas taxes raising £5.1 billion in 2026-27, falling to £1.9 billion by 2028-29 and close to zero by 2031-32 once the Energy Profits Levy expires.

The projection includes the North Sea Transition Authority's estimate of production from potential new projects such as Rosebank. Output is expected to fall by about 10% a year between 2027 and 2031, but by around 14% a year if no new fields are approved.

Lady Curran said the figures did not pre-empt Ms Fahnbulleh's ruling. "This in no way reflects the Energy Secretary's independent decision on the project, which will be made through the quasi-judicial process taking into account all relevant factors in the case," she said.

Tory peer Lord Harper said Chancellor John Healey had "given the game away" when he said Ms Fahnbulleh had "opposed" Jackdaw before correcting himself to "approved". He suggested she was against Rosebank too, but that the Prime Minister and the Chancellor would overrule her. Lady Curran replied: "I have to say it is quasi-judicial and I can absolutely guarantee, because I know the Energy Secretary very well, she has not made the decision."