$1bn and counting: blacklisted Israeli company raking it in from North Sea oil

An Israeli firm blacklisted by the UN for its West Bank activities has raked in over $1bn from North Sea oil and gas in just six years – and could be set to earn even more if the Rosebank field is approved.

Analysis by The Ferret shows Aberdeen oil company Ithaca Energy has paid over $1bn in dividends to its largest shareholder, Delek Group, since 2020.

Delek, an Israeli energy conglomerate, has been named on a United Nations database of firms whose activities in the occupied West Bank raise “particular human rights concerns”.

Ithaca owns a stake in the Rosebank oil field off the coast of Shetland, which the UK energy minister Ed Miliband is under pressure to green light. It also now owns 100 per cent of the Cambo field, which was at the centre of controversy in 2021.

Lawyers for the campaign group Uplift have claimed that Ithaca’s connection to Delek means approving Rosebank could risk the UK breaching the Geneva convention, and alleged that the Israeli company’s activities could be seen as “ancillary” to war crimes. 

Environmental campaigners told The Ferret that “not one penny of profit should flow from the North Sea towards Delek” and that choosing to approve Rosebank would be “morally reprehensible” because it could “bolster" its activities in the West Bank.

Both Ithaca and Delek were approached for comment. 

Delek has been Ithaca’s largest shareholder since 2017, but its pay-outs from the firm have accelerated in recent years as Ithaca expanded its presence in UK fossil fuels. Ithaca says it now holds stakes in six of the UK’s ten largest oil and gas fields.

Our analysis shows Ithaca paid $569m in dividends to Delek across 2024 and 2025, with a further $101m distributed on 16 April this year. That takes total payments since 2020 to more than $1bn.

Delek has previously described Ithaca’s operations in the North Sea as part of the “growth engine” for its wider business. 

As The Ferret first reported when Ithaca bought Cambo back in 2022, Delek was included in a 2020 list of companies whose activities in the occupied West Bank “raised particular human rights concerns” after a UN fact finding mission. It remained on updated versions of the list published in 2023 and 2025.

Delek was included because it was deemed to be providing services and utilities to support the maintenance of the settlements and was using natural resources in the West bank for “business purposes”. Israeli settlements in the West Bank are widely regarded as illegal under international law.

We also previously found that another firm in which Delek holds a significant stake – Delek Israel – has held contracts to provide refueling services to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). 

Rosebank is at the centre of a political row over whether the UK should continue to expand oil and gas production in the North Sea.

It is the UK’s largest untapped oil field and is estimated to contain 300 million barrels of oil. Backers of the project argue it could create thousands of jobs and support the country’s energy security in an increasingly unstable world.

Opponents claim it is incompatible with the UK’s climate targets and would do little to lower bills because most of the oil extracted from it would be exported.

The field was initially approved by the Conservative government in 2023, but Scotland’s court of session later found that decision unlawful, deeming that its full environmental impact had not been considered.

A revised application has since been submitted and the final decision will rest with Ed Miliband, who has faced pressure from politicians and industry to approve the project.

This company owns some of Scotland’s biggest oil fields. It’s also accused of complicity in Israel’s war

Ithaca Energy is a growing force in UK energy with stakes in six of the UK’s 10 largest oil and gas fields. It’s also been linked to Israel’s war in Gaza.

The FerretPaul Dobson

Analysis by WWF Norway previously estimated a further $300m (£222m) could flow to Delek if Rosebank goes ahead. Ithaca is expected to make a final decision on whether to try and develop the Cambo field either this year or in 2027.

“If the UK Government chooses to green light Rosebank, it would be a morally reprehensible decision that turns a blind eye to the fact that the project could bolster Delek’s activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” Lauren MacDonald from the campaign group Stop Rosebank told The Ferret. 

She continued: "There are many reasons why this toxic field should be stopped - but this is simply indefensible. 

“The UK Government is well aware of these risks, and has even been warned that it could breach its own obligations under international law if it allows the field to go ahead.

"If the UK and Scottish governments are serious about creating a better world, they will pull the plug on Rosebank for good and ensure no further profits flow from our North Sea to Delek.”

Ithaca has not publicly commented on Delek’s links to the West Bank but has pointed out that it is a London stock exchange listed company and claims to be “governed by the highest standards of corporate governance”. 

“Ithaca is one of the biggest investors in the North Sea and Scotland, is a responsible employer and is a major contributor to both the UK Treasury through tax payments and the UK’s energy security,” it told us in response to a story last August.

The UK Government also failed to respond to a request for comment. It  previously said in regard to Rosebank that it cannot comment on individual projects.