Jackdaw gas field gets green light

Energy Secretary gives go ahead to controversial Jackdaw gas field, as Chancellor announces new Energy Wealth Fund

• The Energy Secretary has agreed that the regulator can grant consent for gas to be produced at the licensed Jackdaw field.
• The project will start to supply gas to British homes and businesses from as early as the end of this month, helping heat millions of homes and protecting hundreds of jobs.
• New Energy Wealth Fund to be established by the Chancellor with a £2 billion downpayment to reinvest oil and gas revenues into the climate transition.
• Still no decision on Rosebank

Jackdaw will start to supply gas to British homes and businesses from the end of this month, after the Energy Secretary agreed that the regulator can grant consent for gas to be produced at the field. 

The Jackdaw decision is expected to increase domestic gas production by around 6% at its peak – supporting the UK’s gas supply over its lifespan of up to 11 years, boosting our energy security, protecting hundreds of jobs and adding an estimated £2.9 billion to the UK economy.

Recent events in the Middle East have triggered global energy shocks and pushed up bills for families across the country. At a time of global instability, homegrown energy can be a source of national strength.

The Chancellor is also announcing today the establishment of a new Energy Wealth Fund, which will use tax revenues from North Sea oil and gas to invest in renewable and low carbon energy projects and support the green transition.  Reflecting our commitment to the North Sea, this will start with an initial £2 billion injection of funding, with future revenues from the North Sea flowing into the fund over time.

The announcement comes ahead of the Budget, which will set out the government’s plan to deliver good growth in every postcode. By reinvesting Britain’s energy wealth in renewable and low carbon energy infrastructure, the Fund will unlock investment, back the industries of the future and create skilled jobs across Scotland and the UK.

This investment in renewable energy will substantially delink gas and electricity by the end of this Parliament. By investing in and building more renewable and low carbon power, gas will set the price of electricity less often, helping end Britain’s exposure to volatile international gas markets and help get bills down for good in the long term.

The Energy Secretary assessed among other points, that the Jackdaw project will not prevent the UK from being able to meet its legally binding limits on carbon emissions and achieve net-zero by 2050.

The heatwaves and extreme weather events experienced this year highlighted the importance of tackling the climate crisis. The Government remains committed to the green transition and net zero – moving away from fossil fuels and towards renewable and nuclear energy. But even on the path to net zero, the UK will still require oil and gas as part of our energy needs for decades to come.  

The decision is consistent with the government’s manifesto commitment not to issue any new licences to explore new fields while managing existing fields for the entirety of their lifespan. The Jackdaw gas field is already licensed and the North Sea Transition Authority’s decision to grant consent now gives the developer the green light to begin operations at the field.

It follows the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Finch case in 2024, which means North Sea operators are now required to consider the impact of burning the extracted oil and gas in environmental impact assessments. This meant the Energy Secretary had to consider a new environmental framework alongside all relevant factors in the case, including responses to the public consultation. 

 Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said: “Following careful consideration of all relevant factors I have agreed that the regulator can grant consent for gas to be produced at Jackdaw, which will begin to supply the UK with gas from this winter thanks to the highly skilled and vital North Sea workers.

“This decision will support the country’s energy security with homegrown gas this winter and help minimise the UK’s use of imported higher emission fuels as we continue our transition to renewables and nuclear.

“The decision is compatible with our legally binding climate commitments, and we remain resolute in ending new licences for oil and gas and achieving net zero by 2050.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “I welcome the Energy Secretary’s decision, which will protect hundreds of jobs and help keep millions of homes warm this winter. At a time when people are really struggling, it’s right that we look in a responsible way at maximising the existing energy reserves we have in Britain that could help.

“We’re committed to moving towards renewable energy and reaching net zero by 2050. But even on our ambitious climate path, we’ll still require oil and gas as part of our energy needs for decades to come.

“That’s why we’re taking a pragmatic approach to the North Sea. We’re also establishing a new  Energy Wealth Fund to invest in renewable energy, support the green transition and help reduce energy bills over the long-term.

“Our approach will ensure we can boost our energy security, back British workers, ringfence future North Sea proceeds to speed up the green transition, hit our ambitious climate targets and – crucially – bring down bills.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey said: “I want Britain’s energy wealth to spark a new wave of clean power to work for the British people.

“Since North Sea gas and oil were discovered decades ago, the benefit of our existing nation’s natural resources have not been turned into the long-term investment our country needs.

“Through our new Energy Wealth Fund, we will invest in the clean energy industries of the future, creating jobs, driving growth and strengthening Britain’s energy security.”

Secretary of State for Scotland Douglas Alexander said: “This decision to approve Jackdaw is a win for Aberdeen, a win for Scottish workers and a win for Britain’s energy security. The North East has helped power the country for half a century, and will continue to do so for decades to come.

“This will harness the homegrown skills and assets we have in Scotland and right across the UK in a boost for the economy, as we continue to invest in and grow clean energy resources, and work towards the transition.”

Stuart Payne, Chief Executive of the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) said: “After robust scrutiny we have today granted consent for the Jackdaw Field development which allows the owners to proceed with their project and produce gas from the field upon completion of development work.

“This project will support the UK’s energy security by providing domestically produced gas, generate tax revenues, safeguard supply chain jobs, use existing infrastructure, and have an emissions intensity well below the UK average.

The Energy Wealth Fund will support investment in the renewable and low carbon energy industries that will power Britain’s future. It will help ensure more value from Britain’s energy resources is invested for the long term, supporting the green transition and creating a lasting national asset for future generations.

Alongside supporting the North Sea oil and gas sector, the government will continue to invest in the new energy industries that will support Scotland’s long-term jobs and prosperity. Since 2024, the UK has seen more than £100 billion of investment in renewable and low carbon energy.  

 Most recently, Sumitomo announced the opening of a £350 million into a cable factory at the Port of Nigg earlier this week. And SSE yesterday confirmed that 400 skilled jobs will be supported across Scotland through its new supply chain contracts for the Berwick Bank B offshore wind farm.

The government is taking a pragmatic approach to the North Sea that will support existing oil and gas production and back the highly skilled workforce as opportunities grow in renewables and wider sectors.

As announced last year, new Transitional Energy Certificates will allow for some oil and gas production in already-explored areas that are near licensed fields, linked via a tieback – ensuring existing fields can remain economically viable.

The government has therefore confirmed today that it is asking the regulator to consider urgent cases that could benefit from similar measures now, before legislation on these new certificates is in place. This will ensure the sector can support existing oil and gas fields, while still preventing exploration in new unlicensed areas. 

It comes as discussions with industry leaders begin on a refresh of the North Sea Transition Deal to ensure domestic oil and gas production continues to benefit the UK and build the energy industries of the future. First agreed in 2021, the deal aims to provide a clear path for the industry to support the UK in reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, while protecting jobs and supporting energy security.

The changing nature of the North Sea basin also opens up new opportunities to expand the UK’s decommissioning sector – which is expected to support up to 25,000 skilled jobs over the next decade and attract up to £25.6 billion in investment, according to independent analysis.

To help unlock this potential, the government has launched a consultation on new guidance to support decommissioning of complex infrastructure. The government has also formally asked Shell to submit their Brent decommissioning programme for the Energy Secretary to consider, with the aim to unblock a longstanding decision process that has been under review since 2017.

The UK Government’s approval of the Jackdaw gas field is a betrayal of our children’s future and outright climate vandalism, the Scottish Greens have said.

Labour has approved Jackdaw today even though it will do nothing to lower household bills and will only help greedy shareholders rake in obscene profits.

Jackdaw will have no meaningful impact on the UK’s energy security. Over its roughly 10-year lifetime it will provide only 2% of UK gas demand.

Labour approved the field despite the repeated heatwaves and devastating wildfires which hit the UK this summer, the latest round of extreme weather driven by the climate emergency.

Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer said: “Labour’s decision to approve Jackdaw is climate vandalism. It is a devastating betrayal of our children’s future and it won’t even lower energy bills in the here and now.

“Andy Burnham’s Government had the opportunity to reject the greed of oil and gas companies. They could have focused instead on lowering bills and protecting our planet by investing in clean, green renewable energy. Instead, this Labour Prime Minister has caved in to the fossil fuel lobby and continued to devastate our climate.

“The UK has just endured a summer of repeated heatwaves and devastating wildfires. This winter we’ll likely see extreme levels of flooding. The climate emergency is here already and it’s costing lives.

“Jackdaw will make the UK even more dependent on gas despite its wildly fluctuating prices in the global market. That will do absolutely nothing to lower household energy bills and it is dishonest to pretend that it will.

“Labour’s climate credentials are now in shreds. Families across the country are struggling to afford the rising costs of heating their homes. The money being thrown at oil and gas companies in the form of tax breaks should instead be used to insulate homes and help people swap out their gas boilers for heat pumps.”

Ross Greer added: “The Scottish Greens are now the only party standing up for our planet and against the greed of oil and gas companies.

“Our children and all future generations will not forget Labour’s climate vandalism.

“Scotland has a huge wealth of clean, green renewable energy sources, but we are constantly held back by Westminster. The UK Government has once again bent to the whim of the fossil fuel lobbyists who only care about making obscene profits for their shareholders, regardless of the ruin they are leaving for everyone else.”

Greenpeace UK press briefing

The Government looks set to approve more oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. Based on the facts set out below, Greenpeace wants to know, why?

This brief sets out the latest facts about the climate, energy bills, jobs and energy security for both Jackdaw and Rosebank and suggests 10 questions for journalists to ask ministers and spokespeople ahead of the decision. 

Jackdaw key facts

• Adura claims Jackdaw brings massive economic benefits, but in their own environmental statement they admit that it will create just 27 new full-time jobs. Most of the workforce already works on the existing Shearwater platform.
• Using government calculations for climate harm, burning Jackdaw’s gas will cause an estimated £16.1 billion in global damage and over 8,000 heat-related deaths.
• Jackdaw’s total gas reserves would only reduce our annual gas import dependency by 2% on average. This will not lower international gas prices paid by UK consumers.
• Adura argues that Jackdaw’s emissions are only a tiny percentage of global pollution. However, existing oil and gas fields worldwide will already produce more than double the amount of carbon the planet can handle to limit warming to 1.5°C. We already have more than enough gas to meet global supply.

Rosebank key facts

• Burning Rosebank’s 254 million tonnes of Scope 3 emissions will cause an estimated 57,000 global heat-related deaths under peer-reviewed climate models.
• Using standard UK Treasury figures for life valuation, Rosebank inflicts over £114 billion in global climate damage, wiping out its claimed £24.3 billion in economic value nearly five times over.
• 90% of Rosebank’s oil reserves are destined for international markets and all of it will be sold at global market prices, meaning no cheap oil reserved for UK consumers.
• UK taxpayers effectively shoulder over 80% of Rosebank’s development costs through generous tax reliefs.
• Equinor, which reported around $50 million in UK operating income, paid no tax or royalties to the UK in 2024.
• In 2024 Shell paid no net tax on its North Sea drilling, instead receiving £12.4 million in tax reliefs. Shell is expected to avoid a further £1 billion of tax payments through the new Adura joint venture by offsetting its future profits against Equinor’s accumulated tax losses.
• Rosebank would generate a total of 254 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent in greenhouse gas emissions over its lifetime. That’s the equivalent of nearly 70% of the UK’s entire annual emissions in 2024.
• The climate pollution from Rosebank’s reserves would be greater than the combined annual CO₂ emissions of the 73 lowest-emitting countries and territories (representing over 114 million people).

Wider Context

• UK oil and gas employment halved from 441,000 in 2013 to 213,000 in 2023, despite hundreds of drilling licences being issued. 
• The UK green economy is worth £100bn per year, employs over a million people and has nearly half a trillion pounds of investment in the pipeline.
• Climate impacts were estimated to cost each UK household £3,000 in 2025. 
• Shell’s Q2 profits were £7.4 billion, while the world’s five biggest oil companies made half a billion dollars per day in the second quarter of 2026 due to the Iran war. 
• UK taxpayer-funded subsidies to fossil fuel companies are worth £13.3 billion for the last seven years. That amount could fund seven years of support for North Sea workers to transition to renewable industries, at the level called for by unions and environmental NGOs.

10 Questions for Government Ministers and Spokespeople

1. Bills: How much will Jackdaw or Rosebank reduce household energy bills, and by when? If their oil and gas are sold at international market prices, what is the mechanism for delivering cheaper energy?
2. Energy security: If Jackdaw reduces annual gas import dependency by only 2% on average, how does that justify its climate damage? How does Rosebank improve UK energy security when 90% of its oil is destined for international markets?
3. Jobs: How many new, permanent UK jobs will each project create? How do ministers reconcile claims of major employment benefits with Adura’s own figures that Jackdaw provides just 27 permanent new jobs? 
4. Trump: What commitments did the PM give to Donald Trump on North Sea drilling and is the US president now dictating UK energy policy? 
5. Growth: How will licensing more drilling deliver good growth in every postcode? What lasting growth will these projects deliver, and why is further drilling a better investment than backing the UK’s surging green economy?
6. Public money: Why should taxpayers effectively shoulder over 80% of Rosebank’s development costs? What is the expected net return to the public after tax reliefs and climate damage are taken into account?
7. Climate damage: How do ministers justify Rosebank’s estimated £114 billion in global climate damage against its claimed £24.3 billion economic value? What weight have they given to the estimated heat-related deaths from both fields?
8. Pragmatism:  Ministers have promised a pragmatic approach. What is pragmatic about approving projects that add to climate damage without delivering cheaper energy or a secure long-term future for workers?
9. Political pressure: What role has lobbying by fossil fuel companies played in these decisions? Will ministers publish the evidence and records of relevant meetings?
10. Rosebank: If the Government approves Jackdaw but delays Rosebank, why is it postponing a decision on the more damaging project? When will ministers give a definitive answer?