The key facts

  • The UK government, according to BBC News sources, will announce a decision on the Jackdaw field on Wednesday morning; Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulle is expected to address MPs.
  • In Westminster it is believed that Jackdaw will be approved, while no decision on Rosebank will be made for now.
  • The licences were issued by the Conservative government in 2022–2023, but the Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled the fields' approval unlawful due to failure to account for climate impacts.

Expected Jackdaw announcement

The UK government is expected to announce its long-awaited decision on the fate of the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea. According to BBC News, citing several sources in Whitehall, the announcement will be made on Wednesday morning, and Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulle will address MPs in the afternoon. In Westminster there is a widespread belief that Jackdaw will be approved, but no decision on the Rosebank oil field near the Shetland Islands will be made for now. The question of approving both projects has acquired great political significance, and its consideration has been delayed for several months.

Government position and election commitments

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has repeatedly spoken of the need for a 'flexible' approach to energy and is believed to support additional extraction where licences already exist in the North Sea. The Labour Party's 2024 manifesto promised not to issue new oil and gas licences in the North Sea, but to honour existing ones — Jackdaw falls into this category.

The fields and their characteristics

Jackdaw is located approximately 150 miles (241.4 km) east of Aberdeen; according to its operators, the gas field could be connected to the UK grid within a few months. Rosebank lies approximately 80 miles (128.7 km) north-west of the Shetland Islands and is the UK's largest undeveloped oil field, which will also produce some gas.

Legal history

The controversial fields have been the subject of debates, legal battles and public consultations for years. Licences for them were issued by the UK's Conservative government in 2022 and 2023, which prompted legal challenges from environmental groups. The Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled last year that Rosebank and Jackdaw had been approved unlawfully, because the government had failed to take into account the climate consequences of burning the oil and gas extracted from the fields.

Arguments of the parties

Environmentalists insist that new extraction would be unacceptable and would undermine efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions amid heatwaves and extreme weather around the world. They also argue that starting extraction will not protect energy security, and that an earlier transition to 'green' technologies would better support jobs. Industry organisations, by contrast, believe that launching production at Rosebank and Jackdaw would create jobs and strengthen the UK's energy security at a time when foreign conflicts threaten supplies.

A mostly yellow-painted gas platform and allied grey rig stand in calm blue seas with a clear blue sky behind them. It is sunny.
Image caption,

The Jackdaw gas platform and drilling rig stand east of Aberdeen in the North Sea

A map of the North Sea showing the Jackdaw and Rosebank fields relative to the mainland and other island groups.
Andy Burnham leaving Downing Street. He is wearing a dark blue suit, blue tie and glasses. He is carrying a red folder.A woman holding a red sign readingThe sun on he horizon behind an oil and gas platform in the North Sea. The sea is calm and the whole scene is a vivid orange colour.