Oil giant Shell has pulled out of the Cambo oil field development causing mixed reaction by business leaders around the world

Shell has pulled out of the controversial Cambo oil field development west of Shetland – which the oil giant has a 30 percent stake in the project.

The oil giant stated that it had conducted “comprehensive screening” prior to concluding that the economic case for investment in the North Atlantic project was “not strong enough.”

The field could produce up to 170m barrels of oil equivalent and 53.5bn cubic feet of gas over 25 years, according to Reuters.

Reports published from the Independent stated that the decision was welcomed by environmental groups including Greenpeace, which said the decision should mark the “death blow” for Cambo.

Environmentalists say new fossil fuel projects like Cambo are incompatible with action on climate change.

But business leaders have warned that thousands of oil and gas jobs could be at risk

Aberdeen’s Chamber of Commerce said a “premature” end to domestic production could see some areas suffer the fate of mining communities in the 1980s, despite Cambo’s majority stakeholder stating it still planned to take the project forward.

Siccar Point Energy is currently awaiting approval from the UK government to develop the field.

Why Cambo isn’t a good look for Shell:

Shell has been promising to transition away from fossil fuels and commit to renewable technologies such as Sustainable Aviation Fuel, which the company has been working with airlines to produce.

Taking on environmentalist group as well as the Scottish government for the right to drill for oil is not a good look for a company, especially following COP26.

The Cambo oil project is expected to hold hundreds of millions of barrels of oil – each of them worth some $70 at current prices.