Controversial Jackdaw gas field expected to be approved by government

The controversial Jackdaw gas field is expected to receive approval from energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh on Wednesday.

Unions, industry sources and campaigners opposed to the development anticipate Ms Fahnbulleh will make the long-awaited announcement in Aberdeen, ending almost two years of uncertainty over the project.

The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero declined to comment.

The fate of the Jackdaw field, located 150 miles east of Aberdeen, and the Rosebank oil field off Shetland, has been in doubt since approval granted by the previous Conservative government was overturned in the Scottish courts in January last year.

Last week the energy secretary told Sky News a decision on Jackdaw was "imminent" but a decision on Rosebank "would take a little longer".

Developers Adura, co-owned by Shell and Norwegian oil giant Equinor, say Jackdaw is capable of supplying up to 6% of UK gas demand, and the two oil and gas fields will support 3,500 jobs at peak construction and raise almost £4bn in taxes by 2034.

Shell says emissions from Jackdaw will not materially influence global climate change.

Opponents of the scheme, including Greenpeace and Uplift, who challenged the original approval in court, say further North Sea drilling will put the UK in breach of its climate commitments and do nothing to bring down consumer bills.

Natural gas extraction peaked at the turn of the century but the UK still sources around 45% of supply from the North Sea, and fuel extracted from Jackdaw will feed directly into the domestic network.

Bringing Jackdaw on stream is unlikely to have a significant impact on UK gas prices but it would displace imports that, in the case of liquified natural gas (LNG), come with a higher carbon footprint.

The fate of Jackdaw and Rosebank has crystallised debate over the future of the UK's North Sea fossil fuel resources and the pace of transition towards Net Zero and the government's target to decarbonise the electricity grid by 2030.

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While Labour committed to ban new oil and gas licences in its election manifesto and Conservatives and Reform have called for unfettered exploitation of North Sea reserves, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has promised "a pragmatic approach".

The UK still relies on fossil fuels for three-quarters of its energy supply and will continue to use oil and gas for decades even as the energy transition continues.

(c) Sky News 2026: Controversial Jackdaw gas field expected to be approved by government