• Published

The UK government is expected to announce a long-awaited decision on whether to approve the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea.

It is widely believed in Westminster that Jackdaw will be approved but that a decision on the Rosebank oil field off Shetland will not yet be made.

The question of whether to approve the two sites has become hugely politically significant and has been delayed for several months.

Multiple Whitehall sources have told BBC News the government would make an announcement on Jackdaw on Wednesday morning with the Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh expected to address MPs in the afternoon.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has spoken repeatedly of the need for a "flexible" approach to energy and is believed to be in favour of drilling more where licensing already exist in the North Sea.

Labour's 2024 manifesto pledged not to issue any new oil and gas licences in the North Sea but to honour existing ones such as Jackdaw.

Jackdaw, about 150 miles (241.4km) east of Aberdeen, is a gas field which its operators say could be connected to the UK network within months.

Rosebank, about 80 miles (128.7km) north-west of Shetland, is Britain's largest untapped oil field, which would also produce some gas.

The controversial fields have been the subject of years of debates, legal wrangling and public consultations, with arguments from both industry bodies and environmentalists being weighed up by the UK government.

Licences for the fields were granted by the Conservative UK government in 2022 and 2023, which sparked legal challenges from environmental groups.

The Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled last year that Rosebank and Jackdaw had been unlawfully approved because the government had failed to take into account the climate impact of burning extracted oil and gas from the sites.

Environmentalists insist more drilling would be unconscionable, and hamper efforts to cut planet-warming carbon emissions as deadly heatwaves and extreme weather affect people across the globe.

They also claim starting production would not protect energy security and transitioning sooner to greener technologies would be better for supporting jobs.

Industry bodies argue starting production at Rosebank and Jackdaw will provide jobs and improve the UK's energy security as overseas conflicts threaten supply.

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