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The Government is widely expected to approve a long-awaited new gas drilling operation off the coast of Aberdeen on Wednesday. A decision on the Jackdaw gas field will be announced following months of speculation about its future. The North Sea project is one of two – alongside the Rosebank oil field – which the Labour Government must decide the fate of, after their approval by the previous Conservative administration was halted because of a legal challenge last year. (PA Graphics) (PA Graphics) Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he will “take a pragmatic approach when it comes to the North Sea” since coming to power in the summer.
He has faced pressure from environmental groups to “stick to the spirit” of Labour’s manifesto and refuse consent for either of the schemes. The 2024 manifesto committed to issuing no new oil and gas licences for the North Sea. However, proponents of Jackdaw and Rosebank within the party have argued that neither are new fossil fuel fields, given the wheels were in motion to tap them ahead of Labour winning power.
The Prime Minister’s political opponents have argued further North Sea drilling will increase domestic energy supplies amid global price spikes triggered by the US war with Iran. Analysts have, however, said that approving the oil and gas fields would have very little impact on energy prices for UK households and businesses. Mr Burnham has also faced pressure from across the Atlantic to maximise oil and gas production from the North Sea.
US President Donald Trump has claimed the UK is “sitting on top of gold”, and has urged Mr Burnham to approve more drilling in the basin, as he did to former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer. Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has said a decision on Rosebank, the largest untapped oil field in the North Sea, will take “a bit longer”, and will not be made alongside one on Jackdaw. Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh (Maja Smiejkowska/PA) (PA Wire) Andrew Bowie, the shadow energy secretary, said the Jackdaw decision “should be the start, not the end”.
He added: “Labour must approve Rosebank, end the ban on licences, and scrap the Energy Profits Levy. That is what a Conservative Government would do, and it is what this Prime Minister should do if he wants anyone to believe he is serious.” Gary Smith, GMB general secretary also welcomed the coming decision as “great news”, and said his union would “continue to press for further, essential measures that increase our domestic energy capacity, such as granting permission for Rosebank”. He added: “For too long, this and other vital decisions on our gas supplies and storage have been put off, risking the UK’s energy security at a time of worrying international volatility.
Elsewhere, climate campaigner for Friends of the Earth, Danny Gross, said: “Is the Prime Minister living in a parallel universe? One where we haven’t just endured our hottest summer on record, with droughts, wildfires and, in all likelihood, the most heat-related deaths on record? And where the UN hasn’t warned that we’re on the brink of breaching the all-important 1.5 degree warming limit?
“Against this backdrop, there’s nothing that justifies giving the go-ahead to a colossal new fossil fuel project in North Sea. The disconnect is absolutely maddening.” Rosemary Harris, Oil Change International North Sea senior campaigner, said: “It is a shame that one of the first big decisions for the new Energy Secretary, Miatta Fahnbulleh, has been to approve more fossil fuel drilling. “At a time where the impacts of climate breakdown are so clearly felt, from the loss of livelihoods, homes and lives in the UK over the summer, to the devastating floods in Nepal, our government should look to the future, not cling to the past.
“All eyes are now on Rosebank, and the hope that Andy Burnham and his Energy Secretary have the courage and vision to push back against the industry and plot a path to an energy transition that provides more security, lower bills and a safe climate.”
Source: The Independent
