Jackdaw Gasfield Gets Go-Ahead in North Sea, Angering Climate Groups
Wednesday's approval from Aberdeen gives Shell and Equinor a major boost, while campaigners and some Labour MPs say it undercuts the party's climate pledges
By AXY Energy Desk ·
Key points
- The UK government will approve the Jackdaw gasfield in the North Sea on Wednesday, with the announcement made from Aberdeen by Miatta Fahnbulleh and John Healey.
- Shell and Equinor operate Jackdaw, which will account for 6% of North Sea gas production when fully operational.
- Uplift says the field will supply around 2% of UK gas demand for about 10 years and will not stop job losses, putting pressure on Labour's climate record.
The UK government will give the go-ahead on Wednesday to the Jackdaw gasfield in the North Sea, a decision that signals Andy Burnham's commitment to the region's oil and gas industry. It also threatens to start a row with climate campaigners and with Labour MPs who campaigned on tighter limits. Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy secretary, and John Healey, the chancellor, will make the announcement from Aberdeen on Wednesday morning. It comes after more than a year of deliberation over whether approving the field would break the UK's climate commitments.
The field is one of the biggest undeveloped gas finds in the North Sea, and the approval is a clear win for the companies behind it. Shell and the Norwegian energy company Equinor operate Jackdaw, and the decision is a big boost for Britain's oil and gas industry. For the companies, it means a project that has been waiting for a green light can now move towards production.
For climate campaigners, the same decision is a setback. They argue that a government which came to power promising restraint is now opening a new gas field. Both reactions are shaping the political argument before a single well has been drilled.
What is being approved and why it matters
Jackdaw is a gas field, meaning a underground reservoir of natural gas that can be drilled and brought up to the surface through platforms and pipelines. It sits in the North Sea, the shallow body of water between Britain, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. When it is fully operational, Jackdaw will account for 6% of North Sea gas production, which makes it one of the largest fields in the region that has not yet begun producing.
That detail matters because the North Sea has been in slow decline for more than two decades. Output peaked in the early 2000s, and the older fields have been producing less each year. Gas from the North Sea still heats many British homes and supplies a share of the electricity the country uses, so changes in output affect how much the UK has to import. A new field of this size does not reverse the decline, but it slows it and keeps a share of supply in British hands for longer.
Jackdaw is being discussed alongside the Rosebank oilfield, another large project that has been waiting for a decision. The two projects have become symbols of how far the government is prepared to back the fossil fuel industry while it also works toward long-term climate targets. Because so much of the political debate now turns on these two cases, the outcome of Wednesday's announcement will be read well beyond Aberdeen.
How the field got this far
Jackdaw was first approved by the Conservative government in 2022. Ministers at the time argued that more domestic gas would help shield the UK from the volatility in the energy market caused by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. That invasion sent wholesale gas and electricity prices sharply higher across Europe, and many households saw their bills rise steeply in the months that followed. The argument that home-grown supply reduces exposure to shocks of that kind is still central to the case for drilling today.
Critics dispute how much a single field can change prices. Gas is traded on international markets, and the price a household pays depends on many factors beyond any one project. Supporters of drilling answer that the UK will keep using gas for years, and that producing some of it at home means less reliance on imports, especially during a crisis.
Labour came to power in 2024 with a commitment not to grant any new licences in the North Sea. A licence is the formal permission a company needs to explore for or produce oil and gas in a specific area. The pledge was a central part of the party's approach to energy and climate. Labour did not expect to have to make a decision on Jackdaw or Rosebank, and that is why the choice now sits so uncomfortably with the earlier promise.
The Climate Change Act 2008 set a legal framework for cutting UK greenhouse gas emissions, and a later amendment committed the country to reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Net zero means that any remaining emissions are balanced by removals from the atmosphere. Whether new oil and gas fields fit within those targets is one of the central questions in the current row, and it is the reason the decision has taken more than a year to reach.
What campaigners say about the case
Climate campaigners have been clear about their objections. Tessa Khan, executive director of the anti-oil campaign group Uplift, said: "Jackdaw will provide around just 2% of our gas demand for roughly 10 years. It has been oversold and won't stop the overall decline in North Sea jobs, as it will be largely unmanned and operated remotely."
Her argument has two parts. The first concerns scale. Two per cent of the UK's gas demand for roughly a decade is a real amount of gas, but it is a small share of the total. Campaigners say that set against the expected production life of a new field, the benefit to the country is modest and short-lived. The second concerns jobs. If the field runs largely without a full crew on board and is controlled from elsewhere, the number of workers it supports may be far smaller than the industry and ministers have suggested. Those points go to the heart of the government's claim that the field is a source of security and economic value.
Khan also said: "Labour's climate credibility is on the line. No new oil and gasfields are compatible with safe climate limits." That is a position many environmental groups hold, but it is not shared across the political spectrum. Supporters of drilling argue that the country still depends on gas, and that a managed decline with domestic production is better than relying more heavily on imports. The debate is therefore about both the climate and the country's energy supply, and each side says the other has ignored a key part of the picture.
For people who live and work in Aberdeen and across Scotland's north-east, the stakes are more personal. The city has long been the centre of the North Sea industry, and many families depend on oil and gas work, directly or through supply firms. Those workers are likely to welcome an approval that promises continued activity, even as they know that the number of jobs in the sector has been falling for years.
Labour's promise under strain
For Labour, the problem is less about one gas field than about consistency. The party won power promising not to grant new North Sea licences, and it is now approving a project that some of its own MPs and supporters are likely to see as a break from that pledge. The reported row with Labour MPs suggests that the division is already visible inside the party, and it will be hard to close quickly.
The decision could make the next choices harder. Rosebank is the obvious example. If the government approves that project as well, it will face the same questions about climate limits, jobs and energy security, and it may do so with fewer MPs willing to defend the choice in public. If it refuses, the companies involved and the unions that represent workers in the industry are likely to demand a clear explanation. Either way, the government's room for manoeuvre looks narrower than it did when it took office.
There is also a question of political messaging. Gas prices and energy security are issues that voters feel directly in their bills, so the government can argue that domestic supply protects households from future shocks. Campaigners can reply that the benefits are modest and that new fields lock in emissions for decades. Both arguments will be tested as the details of the approval become clearer and as the policy is judged over the coming years.
What happens next
The immediate step is Wednesday's announcement in Aberdeen. Readers should watch for the exact terms of the approval, any conditions attached to it, and how ministers respond to the questions about jobs and emissions raised by Uplift. The reporting does not give a start date for production, so it is not yet clear when Jackdaw will begin adding gas to the system.
The next signs of strain are likely to come from Labour MPs who opposed new drilling, and from environmental groups that may challenge the decision through other channels. Those reactions could shape how the government handles Rosebank and any future North Sea approvals. Industry groups and unions will be watching closely for signs of support for jobs in the sector, particularly in the north-east of Scotland.
For ordinary readers, the practical questions are simple. Will the field change energy bills or the number of jobs available locally? Will it change the UK's path toward its climate targets? The answers depend on how much gas the field produces, how many people it employs, and how long it keeps running. Those details are not yet public, and they are likely to decide how the approval is judged in the years ahead.
Questions and answers
What is the Jackdaw gasfield?
Jackdaw is one of the largest undeveloped gas fields in the North Sea. Shell and Equinor operate it, and when fully operational it will account for 6% of North Sea gas production.
Why is the Jackdaw approval controversial?
Climate campaigners say the field undermines Labour's green credentials and will worsen the climate crisis. Uplift also argues it will supply only about 2% of UK gas demand for roughly 10 years and will not stop job losses in the North Sea.
When will the Jackdaw gasfield be approved?
The government will announce the go-ahead on Wednesday morning from Aberdeen. Energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh and chancellor John Healey will make the announcement.
Why was the Jackdaw field approved in the first place?
The field was first approved by the Conservative government in 2022. Ministers argued that domestic gas would help shield the UK from energy market volatility caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Topics: Jackdaw gasfield, North Sea gas, Shell, Equinor, Uplift, UK energy policy, Rosebank oilfield
Sources: The Guardian Energy