Yet the Gorgon consortium has scored green points with its plan to rebury the carbon dioxide it pumps up along with the field's gas.

Scientists speculate that SAR11 plays a major role in the way the ocean’s surface acts as a giant carbon pump that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The plan had been to transport up to 100, 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the power plant each year and inject it into depleted gas reservoirs at a giant gasfield near the Polish border.