UK approves Jackdaw gas field as decision on Rosebank oilfield takes more time

Approval and what comes next

The UK government approved the Jackdaw gas field on Wednesday, 21 October, a project about 240 km east of Aberdeen that had been in the pipeline for four years. The government said gas could start reaching homes and businesses by the end of the month, and that national output would rise by about 6% at its peak. It put the economic benefit at 2.9 billion pounds. It also spoke of protecting hundreds of jobs, while another estimate put the figure at 371 jobs plus 27 full-time direct positions. Prime Minister Andy Burnham told MPs he was taking a pragmatic approach to the North Sea and was questioned about the greenhouse gas emissions the field will produce.

A four-year route to approval

Jackdaw was first approved by the Conservative government in 2022, and a long legal fight followed. When Keir Starmer's Labour government took office in 2024, it had pledged to grant no new North Sea drilling licences. Jackdaw falls under an existing licence, which is why the pledge did not block it. Last year a Scottish court ruled that the licences had not taken indirect greenhouse gas emissions into account and asked companies to submit new applications.

Rosebank and the jobs case

The Rosebank oilfield is a separate decision, and Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has said it will take more time. Reports suggest it could be rejected. Aberdeen South MP Douglas Lumsden wrote to her urging approval, citing 1,600 to 2,000 jobs during peak construction and up to 525 long-term UK-based jobs. He argued there are not enough renewable jobs to replace oil and gas roles, and he urged the Prime Minister to approve Rosebank, scrap the Energy Profits Levy and lift Labour's ban on new licences. The UK government has been contacted for comment.

Critics, a new fund and Tornado

Environmental campaigners, including Greenpeace, criticised the approval. The government also announced an energy transition fund with a starting balance of 2 billion pounds, financed by North Sea revenues. The SNP's Westminster leader Dave Doogan said the fund should have been created decades ago.

Doogan put it more bluntly:

Scotland should have an oil fund worth at least £1 trillion, but instead Westminster tried to pull the wool over the eyes of the Scottish people.

Adura, the joint venture of Shell and Equinor that operates Jackdaw, is already looking at the Tornado gas field, which it holds with Ithaca Energy at a 50% stake. Tornado could produce up to 80 million barrels of oil equivalent, about double Jackdaw's potential. The government will also fast-track projects tied to existing infrastructure. Adura chief executive Neil McCulloch said:

We're also looking beyond Jackdaw and Rosebank, there are other fields to invest in the UK to make sure we have energy security.

At least five other proposed developments are also awaiting consent to begin drilling, according to earlier reporting.