High Court upholds oil exploration licences, but says further approvals must account for ocean harm
Press Release Date: November 28, 2025
Location:
Contact:
Daisy Brickhill | email: dbrickhill@oceana.org
The High Court has ruled that the 28 licences for oil and gas exploration which were challenged by Oceana UK are lawful. However, the judge emphasised that damage to marine wildlife and habitats caused by these developments must be assessed at every step and with increasing rigour at later stages of the process. Several more stages of government approvals are needed before production could begin.
Three quarters of these licences are inside marine protected areas, and Oceana argued in court that the decision to grant the licences was unlawful because the government at the time ignored advice from its own nature advisors. The NGO also said that it failed to account for the severe impacts on marine life from accidental oil spills, and the deepening of the climate crisis caused by burning the oil and gas.
The judge ruled that the ‘appropriate assessments’ were fit for purpose to inform the decision on exploration, in light of the fact that the process for approving oil and gas developments has multiple stages. He highlighted the fact that this judgment is not a reflection on whether full production should be allowed to go ahead – and emphasised that subsequent decisions will need to be taken with full account for environmental impacts.
Oceana is now taking advice on next steps and considering all possible routes to continue its fight for an oil-free ocean, including any appeal.
In total, 21 of 28 of the licences are inside marine protected areas, home to wildlife such as harbour porpoise, grey seals and puffins. Oceana’s analysis has shown that last year there were more than two oil or chemical spills every day from existing oil and gas developments in UK waters. These incidents resulted in over 82,000 kg of oil spilling into the sea.
Hugo Tagholm, Executive Director of Oceana UK, said: “Legally, the government’s decision to grant these licences stands, but morally, it will never be right. Allowing Big Oil to plunder and pollute our seas while the climate crisis trashes our future is not the right course of action and it never will be. The government must make clear – as it did in court – that ‘honouring’ existing oil and gas licences does not guarantee that future consents for production will be granted. We need to honour a safe and stable planet for future generations, not more yet more profits for Big Oil.”
In the budget this week, the government has confirmed it will move to enshrine a ban on new oil and gas licences in law, which would not encompass the 28 licences challenged by Oceana. However, it also introduced new Transitional Energy Certificates which allow expansion of existing infrastructure but exclude new exploration.
Oceana described the ban as: “A downright win for our ocean and climate.” But cautioned that expansion of existing fields would allow the oil industry to continue to pollute and damage UK seas for a relatively small amount of oil. These must be subject to the same rigorous environmental assessments that the judgment alluded to, says the NGO.
Rowan Smith, Senior Associate Solicitor at Leigh Day said: “While our client is extremely disappointed the court has ruled these licences lawful, this is (as the Government argued) the first stage in a multi-stage process. The judge held that assessments must be done with increasing rigour in future stages of the process, at which the full impact of these licences must be considered in concert with the many other pressures on the marine environment. Oceana will, as the judge observed, hold the Government to account on that commitment.”
The licences were granted by the Conservative government in May 2024 and are the final batch granted in the 33rd licensing round. The full 82 licences in the licensing round could result in the extraction of 600 million barrels of oil equivalent, according to government data.
Global heating has already resulted in unprecedented marine heatwaves in UK waters, and is accompanied by rising acidity and declining oxygen. These pressures can lead to the mass mortality of fish, seabirds and marine mammals.