Shell Oil scraps Cambo oil field development in UK

LONDON, England - Shell Oil announced this week that it has abandoned its plans to develop the Cambo oil field west of Shetland in the UK.

Industry observers note that the decision poses major ramifications for oil exploration in the region.

Shell Oil justified its decision because of the economic infeasibility of the enormous investment needed to move forward, as it planned to conduct field explorations by venturing with Siccar Point.

After a comprehensive screening of the proposed Cambo development, we have concluded that the economic case for investment in this project is not strong enough at this time, as well as the potential for delays, according to a company statement.

The environmentalists claim that Shell's step was nothing short of a death blow to the Cambo project, which has faced stiff opposition from activist groups throughout the United Kingdom.

Greenpeace had dragged the government of the United Kingdom into court over its permission to conduct oil drilling activities.

Following the United Nations COP 26 climate summit in Glasgow in October, Nicola Sturgeon, SNP leader and first minister of Scotland, hinted at her disagreement in allowing the project to proceed while impact studies are still underway.

With the United Kingdom's goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 in mind, environmentalists remain opposed to the Cambo project. Government consent was initially provided two decades ago to conduct field exploitation at the location, some 78 miles offshore in one thousand-meter deep waters.

According to the 2021 ministerial announcement, oil drilling parties will be allowed to continue their exploration activities in the North Sea in pursuit of new reserves.