Britain Approves Jackdaw Gas Field After Years of Court Fights

Britain approved the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea on Wednesday, ending years of legal and political fights over one of the country's most contested energy projects. Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said she had agreed that the North Sea Transition Authority can grant consent for gas to be produced at Jackdaw, a field about 150 miles east of Aberdeen.

Adura, the joint venture between Shell and Norway's Equinor that owns the project, says Jackdaw can produce up to 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent of natural gas a day at peak output, equal to about 6 percent of UK North Sea gas production. Fahnbulleh said the field will start supplying gas to British homes and businesses from this winter, and Reuters reported that supply could begin as early as the end of this month because most of the infrastructure is already in place. The field is expected to produce for up to 11 years.

Adura chief executive Neil McCulloch put the investment at 2.1 billion pounds and said the gas at peak production would be enough to heat the equivalent of about 1.4 million UK homes. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the decision would protect hundreds of jobs and help keep homes warm. The government also said it will set up a new Energy Wealth Fund with a 2 billion pound down payment, putting oil and gas revenues into the shift to cleaner energy.

Stopped by the courts, then decided again

The previous Conservative government gave Jackdaw its first approval in June 2022. Climate campaigners challenged that decision in court, alongside the approval for the Rosebank oil field. The courts overturned the approvals after rulings that the climate impact of burning the fuel had to be counted when officials assessed the projects. Fresh public consultations on the plans ran this year and closed in August, leaving ministers to decide the case a second time.

Climate pledges against high bills

The decision is a hard test for Burnham, who took office in July. Labour won the 2024 election on a manifesto that promised no new oil and gas licences in the North Sea. Supporters of Jackdaw inside the party argue it is not a new field, because the work to develop it began before Labour took power. Campaign groups say approving it breaks the spirit of the pledge, and they point to a summer of record breaking heat across Europe.

Burnham said people are struggling with costs and that Britain should make responsible use of the energy reserves it already has. He said the country will still need oil and gas for decades, even while it moves toward renewable energy and net zero by 2050. Household and industry energy costs have weighed on the British economy, and US President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged Burnham to expand drilling in the North Sea to bring prices down.

Rosebank still waiting

A decision on Rosebank, the largest untapped oil field in the North Sea, is being taken separately. Fahnbulleh said it will take a bit longer. McCulloch said Adura now turns its attention to Rosebank, and he argued that the case for approving it is just as strong as the case for Jackdaw. Together, he said, the two projects would support thousands of skilled jobs and bring in billions of pounds of investment.