Shell’s decision to back out of plans to develop the Cambo oilfield could signal the “death knell” for new large-scale North Sea projects as the UK’s tougher climate agenda prompts oil companies to retreat from the ageing oil basin.
Industry sources have said that Shell’s project partner, the private-equity backed Siccar Point, would struggle to find a partner to take on Shell’s 30% stake in the new oilfield which has provoked outrage among green campaigners.
Shell’s retreat has cast doubt over the future of the project, which could yield hundreds of millions of barrels of oil, and industry sources claim it raises fresh doubts over the North Sea’s future large-scale oil projects too.
“This is a turning point,” said one industry source, who
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