Labour has urged the UK Business Secretary to shut down the Rosebank oil field off Scotland even before it begins production.
Dan Carden, MP for Liverpool Walton, asked Grant Shapps to reject the development, saying the "evidence is clear" that the world can't meet Paris climate goals if new oil and gas infrastructure is developed.
However, the UK Government is still stressing why new projects like Rosebank are needed.
Mr Carden's letter cited a UN report last year estimating that global emissions need to drop 43% by 2030 if the world is to remain on-track for 1.5C warming.
Norwegian group Equinor said just a few weeks ago that it is still working towards a final investment decision on Rosebank in the first quarter of this year.
The £4.5billion development is proposed for the waters west of Shetland.
Untapped reserves
Equinor is operator of Rosebank, which is estimated to be capable of producing 300million barrels of oil, making it one of the largest untapped reserves in UK waters.
Energy Voice reports that, in reply to Mr Carden, UK Energy Minister Graham Stuart made the case for new projects like Rosebank.
"Even with declining demand, the natural decline of many of the UK's offshore fields means that the UK is likely to remain a net importer of both oil and gas," he said.
Mr Stuart also highlighted the importance of a gradual transition in order to secure future energy jobs.
"A gradual decline in oil and gas production does not mean a decline for the UK's offshore industries," he added.
"The North Sea will still be a foundation of the UK's energy security in decades to come, although focused on an increasingly-wide range of new low-carbon energy technologies including carbon capture usage and storage, offshore wind and hydrogen production."
Fresh row over Rosebank
The Scottish Greens have also become involved in a fresh row over Rosebank, after calling on the UK Government to halt development of the field.
But the Scottish Tories have hit back at the party for what they described as "reckless, uninformed obsession", which puts thousands of Scottish jobs at risk.
Meanwhile, a parliamentary committee has pressed the UK Government to set a clear date for ending new oil and gas licensing rounds in a bid to show international climate leadership.
The cross-party environmental audit committee said the government should set an end date "well before 2050" if it is to remain a credible leader on climate change.
- Ithaca Energy has announced the presence of hydrocarbons at the Isabella well, though operator TotalEnergies has yet to confirm commercial implications.
In a trading update this week, Ithaca said operator TotalEnergies had informed the firm that signs of hydrocarbons were present in the well.
Hailed by licence partner Neptune Energy as "one of the most exciting prospects" in the central North Sea, it is hoped appraisal drilling at Isabella will firm up estimated volumes of 120million barrels of oil equivalent (boe)/
Ithaca holds a 10% stake in licence P1820 alongside TotalEnergies (30%), Neptune (30%) and Energean (10%).
Separately, Ithaca confirmed plans to carry out exploration drilling at its operated K2 prospect in Block 22/14c of the central North Sea, alongside partner Dana Petroleum (50%).
Energy Voice says advisory firm Envoi has previously estimated resource potential of 102million boe.