ENVIRONMENTAL groups have criticised oil giant BP’s “reckless” plans to develop a North Sea oil field almost 90 miles from Shetland after it received approval from industry regulator the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA).

BP said the Alligin field, 87 miles west of Shetland, contains 20 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) and at its peak is expected to produce 12,000 boe per day. It is part of the Greater Schiehallion Area and is expected to come on stream in 2020.

The decision comes two weeks after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned of the dangers the world faces if rapid and far-reaching action is not taken by governments to cut emissions.

Friends of the Earth Scotland (FoES) director, Dr Richard Dixon, said: “This approval of this new North Sea oilfield for development by BP is a reckless decision that is incompatible with efforts to tackle climate change. This oil needs to stay under the seabed. The world cannot afford to burn even a fraction of the fossil fuels we already have, never mind approving the extraction of another 20m barrels of oil.

“The strategy adopted by UK and Scottish Governments of ‘maximising economic recovery’ from the North Sea means maximising destruction of the climate. The Scottish and UK Government need to work together to end further oil and gas exploration in the North Sea. They should be planning for a rapid and orderly transition away from fossil fuels in a way that is fair to the workers and communities currently dependent on these industries.

“Just last week the UK Government asked their advisers about how to get to net zero climate emissions by 2050. If they are serious about this goal, they must accept it means phasing out fossil fuels from the economy.”

Gina Hanrahan, head of policy for WWF Scotland, said: “Just weeks after the world’s leading scientists warned us we need to increase our action to keep global temperature rises within 1.5 degrees, it’s galling to see North Sea oil production increase.

“Instead we need to see a just transition that enables us to harness the engineering skills currently deployed in the North Sea and apply them to supporting a range of cleaner forms of energy production.

“To reduce the risk of dangerous global climate change, the vast majority of known fossil fuel reserves need to be left in the ground unburned.”

The Alligin development will comprise two wells, which will use the existing Schiehallion and Loyal subsea infrastructure, and the processing and export facilities of the Glen Lyon floating, production storage, offload (FPSO) vessel.

BP North Sea regional president, Ariel Flores, said: “We announced our intention to develop Alligin in April and six months later we have achieved regulatory approval.

“Always maintaining our focus on safety, we are modernising and transforming how we work in the North Sea to fully realise the potential of our portfolio.

“Alligin is part of our advantaged oil story, rescuing stranded reserves and tying them back into existing infrastructure.

“Developments like this have shorter project cycles, allowing us to bring on new production quicker. These subsea tiebacks complement our major start-ups and underpin BP’s commitment to the North Sea.”

BP and Shell operate Alligin as joint venture partners.

Brenda Wyllie, West of Shetland and northern North Sea area manager at the OGA, said: “The Oil and Gas Authority is pleased to consent to the development of the Alligin field.

“This fast-tracked project will maximise economic recovery through utilising capacity in the Glen Lyon FPSO and is a good example of the competitive advantage available to operators from the extensive infrastructure installed in the UKCS.”