Treasury calculations behind the Budget documents and the OBR's forecasts assume the Rosebank oilfield will be approved and will generate significant tax revenue, The Times reports, despite splits in the cabinet over the project.
According to The Times, production projections from Rosebank's developer, Adura, were included in submissions used to estimate oil and gas receipts. The assumption has not been confirmed in the OBR's published Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
The Energy Secretary, Miatta Fahnbulleh, is reported by ScottishNews.com and Energy Voice to have serious reservations about Rosebank.
The Greens condemned the report. Green MP Ellie Chowns said in a statement reported by the Morning Star:
"Instead, the Chancellor doubled down on fossil fuels, balancing the books on the assumption that climate-wrecking Rosebank oilfield will be approved."
Green Party leader Zack Polanski called the Budget "a catastrophic letdown".
Tessa Khan, executive director of the campaign group Uplift, said the assumption "would render any approval unlawful." She also said the public would bear over 80% of Rosebank's development costs through tax breaks. That figure has not been independently checked.