Jackdaw gasfield approval: UK to give North Sea project the go-ahead
The Jackdaw North Sea gasfield will get the go-ahead on Wednesday, energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh and chancellor John Healey are to announce from Aberdeen, clearing the way for Shell and Equinor to develop one of the basin's biggest undeveloped fields.
Jackdaw gasfield approval: UK to give North Sea project the go-ahead
Ministers to confirm approval from Aberdeen
Energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh and chancellor John Healey will announce the jackdaw gasfield approval from Aberdeen on Wednesday morning. They will be joined by Stuart Payne, chief executive of the North Sea Transition Authority, the regulator that will grant the consent.
Fahnbulleh has decided not to block the field, leaving the North Sea Transition Authority to give the go-ahead based on financial and logistical concerns. Ministers will argue that granting environmental approval does not violate Labour's manifesto commitment because it is not a new licence.
What Jackdaw will produce
Jackdaw is one of the biggest undeveloped fields in the declining North Sea basin, operated by Shell and the Norwegian company Equinor. The project is a significant boost for Britain's oil and gas industry, and for the two operators in particular.
- At full operation, Jackdaw will account for 6% of North Sea gas production.
- The field sits in a basin whose output has been declining.
- Shell and Equinor jointly operate the development.
Why the approval was needed again
A landmark ruling last year found that both Jackdaw and the Rosebank oilfield had been incorrectly environmentally approved, because regulators should have taken into account the carbon emissions generated by burning the oil and gas. Shell and Equinor resubmitted their application for environmental consent last September.
The field was previously approved by the Conservative government in 2022. Labour came to power in 2024 on a promise not to grant any new licences in the North Sea, which is why ministers will frame Wednesday's decision as an environmental consent rather than a new licence.
Campaigners warn on climate and jobs
Climate campaigners oppose the decision. Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift, said:
Jackdaw will provide around just 2% of our gas demand for roughly 10 years
Khan also argued the field will be largely unmanned and operated remotely, so it will not stop the overall decline in North Sea jobs. She said Labour's climate credibility is on the line, and that no new oil and gasfields are compatible with safe climate limits.
Polling adds to the political pressure. A Savanta survey for E3G found nearly a third of voters would be less likely to vote Labour if it gives the go-ahead to more North Sea oil drilling, including about a third of the party's voters at the last election and around half of 18-24-year-olds. Ellie Mae O'Hagan of E3G said: "After a summer of deadly heatwaves, the public has made up its mind: more drilling is the wrong answer".
The approval is likely to be welcomed in north-east Scotland, where unions campaigned for the permits, but may cause angst among Labour MPs in seats where they face a challenge from the Green party. Fahnbulleh is understood not to have made a final decision on the larger Rosebank field, with a decision expected later in the year.
