The Hejre North Sea oil project has been paused after Denmark’s Energiklagenævnet annulled the Energy Agency’s (Energistyrelsen) April 2024 approval on 11 November 2025, ruling that operator INEOS E&P A/S had not sufficiently accounted for the downstream climate effects of burning the oil and gas to be extracted.
The case is remitted to the Energy Agency for a fresh assessment, and subsurface work is halted for now.
Appeals board ruling on the Hejre North Sea oil project
The appeals board (Energiklagenævnet) voided the permit and sent the case back for renewed processing. At the core of the decision is the lack of a clear accounting of indirect (scope 3) emissions linked to the combustion of the hydrocarbons that would be produced at Hejre. The board underscored the need for transparent information for the public about environmental and climate consequences before new fossil projects are cleared.
Why scope 3 emissions matter for permits
In recent years, environmental reviews in Europe have increasingly required project developers to assess lifecycle climate impacts, including scope 3 emissions. For offshore petroleum projects this means estimating the CO₂ released when end‑users burn the oil and gas. The Hejre case turns on whether these downstream effects were sufficiently evaluated and disclosed in the project’s environmental documentation.
Timeline and expected output for Hejre
The Hejre oil field lies in the Danish sector of the North Sea and had been cleared in April 2024 for redevelopment. Construction was planned to start in 2025, with first oil expected in 2027 and the licence running into the 2040s.
Official projections indicated that Hejre could account for about seven percent of Denmark’s expected North Sea oil and gas output over the period to 2045. With the approval now annulled, INEOS must submit additional information and the Energy Agency will have to re‑open the environmental review.
What changes next for INEOS and the Energy Agency
INEOS is required to provide new documentation on climate impacts and other environmental effects. The Energy Agency (Energistyrelsen) must reassess the application, taking into account the appeals board’s findings on scope 3 emissions and public transparency. Until a new decision is issued, field works remain on hold.
Implications for Denmark’s 2050 oil phase‑out
Denmark plans to end oil and gas production by 2050 and has positioned itself as a leader in climate diplomacy in the North Sea region. The Hejre pause highlights how permitting standards and public scrutiny are tightening across Europe.
For Nordic and EU observers, the case will test how climate‑related obligations are integrated into legacy hydrocarbon projects as countries move towards decarbonisation.
The politics around new fossil projects
The suspension follows sustained criticism from environmental groups, who argued that authorising a new production site in the North Sea conflicts with Denmark’s climate ambitions.
Supporters of continued production stress energy security and state revenue, while opponents emphasise compatibility with the 1.5°C pathway. The appeals ruling does not decide that policy debate, but it raises the bar for environmental documentation and public access to information in future reviews.
The Hejre North Sea oil project is on hold because the permit was annulled over insufficient accounting of downstream climate impacts. A new, more rigorous review by Energistyrelsen will determine whether—and under what conditions—the project can proceed.
