“Dangerous Act of Climate Vandalism”: BP Defies UK Government to Reopen North Sea Oil Field

As the UK approaches its fourth heatwave of the summer and wildfires burn in Dorset and Edinburgh, climate campaigners have condemned BP’s decision to push ahead with reopening the North Sea’s Murlach oil field in direct defiance of Energy Secretary Ed Miliband’s call to halt new fossil fuel projects.

BP’s move comes as climate scientists warn the UK must urgently phase out oil and gas to meet its net-zero commitments and limit global heating to 1.5°C.

Kate Blagojevic, Europe Team Lead 350.org, said:

“This is climate vandalism, pure and simple. BP is putting its profit margins above the survival of communities, ecosystems, and future generations. Every barrel of oil from this project pushes us closer to climate breakdown, more floods, more fires, more heatwaves. The era of fossil fuels is over, and BP’s desperate attempts to wring out the last drops of oil from the North Sea are a reckless betrayal of the public and the planet. They should be winding down, not doubling down.”

Campaigners warn that reopening the Murlach oil field undermines the UK’s credibility as a climate leader just months before world leaders gather for COP30 in Brazil. The field was previously shut down in 2004 as it was deemed uneconomic, but has become viable again due to advancements in extraction technologies.

350.org is calling on the UK Government to stand firm against fossil fuel expansion, invest in renewable energy, and deliver a just transition for workers and communities.