It’s a decision that has been a long time coming, but the government has now officially approved the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea.
Reaction to the move has been mixed, with joy from trade unions, despair from climate campaigners, and criticism from some opposition politicians over the time it’s taken to reach this conclusion.
Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh, who took over the job from Ed Miliband after Andy Burnham became PM, insists the approval won’t impact the UK’s ‘sprint’ towards net zero.
But there are also questions over what it will mean for ordinary households across the UK as they struggle with rising energy bills.
According to the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, gas from the field will be supplied to British homes and businesses by the end of this month.
What is Jackdaw and who owns it?
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Jackdaw is the name given to a gas field in the North Sea, around 150 miles west of Aberdeen.
In discussions around drilling for fossil fuels, it’s often paired with an oil field called Rosebank, because both of these large projects were backed by the Tories before being blocked by a court ruling.
Due to the ruling, the companies behind the ventures had to pull together extra information about their predicted climate impact before resubmitting their applications.
Jackdaw is typically seen as less controversial than Rosebank, because it would supply gas for British homes while Rosebank would produce oil to be exported for the global market.
However, it has still faced strong criticism from environmental campaigners who say the gas extracted will ‘supercharge’ the climate crisis.
Jackdaw is owned and operated by Adura, a joint venture between oil and gas giant Shell and the Norwegian state oil company Equinor.
Adura boss Neil McCulloch said today’s decision ‘provides certainty to the businesses and skilled workers already delivering the project’.
He is hoping approval is also given to Rosebank, since Adura plans to develop that oil field alongside Ithaca Energy.
How will the Jackdaw decision affect my bills?
Miatta Fahnbulleh was very careful to manage expectations in interviews this morning: this move will not bring down energy bills.
She told LBC: ‘That was not a consideration in the decision because it won’t mean cheaper bills.’
The cost of the gas extracted from the Jackdaw field is determined by international prices, which have surged in recent years thanks to Russia’s war in Ukraine and disruption in the Gulf linked to the war in Iran.
This is one reason why Fahnbulleh and her predecessor Ed Miliband have argued for more nuclear and renewables – such ‘homegrown’ energy is not affected by global events, meaning costs could be brought down.
Chancellor John Healey announced today that tax receipts from North Sea oil and gas will go into a new fund which will ‘invest in renewable and low carbon energy projects and support the green transition’.
Fahnbulleh said: ‘We absolutely must drive bigger reforms that can get bills down for good, and that is about clean, homegrown energy here that can drive down the cost.
‘But it’s also about reforming the energy market so it works for consumers, and that we are driving costs down for good.’
What are people saying about the Jackdaw decision?
Jackdaw has been a contentious subject for many years, so it’s not surprising that people and organisations are sharply divided on today’s news.
Conservative shadow energy secretary Andrew Bowie said Labour ‘had to be dragged kicking and screaming’ into granting approval, adding that ‘nobody should mistake one gas field for a change of heart’.
He said: ‘This should be the start, not the end. Labour must approve Rosebank, end the ban on licences, and scrap the Energy Profits Levy.’
Octopus Energy boss Greg Jackson said the move was ‘good energy policy’, arguing: ‘Jackdaw will replace 20 ships a year of imported gas, with cleaner British gas that pays tax here and sustains jobs for longer.’
The leaders of the Unite and GMB trade unions also signalled their strong support for the energy secretary’s decision.
But Greenpeace UK’s head of politics Ami McCarthy said it showed the ‘toxic grip fossil fuel lobbyists still hold over our energy policy’.
She said: ‘What Jackdaw is guaranteed to do is generate record profits for Shell and Equinor while supercharging the climate chaos hitting families here and abroad.’
Green Party leader Zack Polanski called the move ‘a victory for Shell over the people’, saying it shows Labour has ‘abandoned all credibility in the fight against climate change’.
He added: ‘The energy secretary has herself said it will make no difference to energy bills, the health secretary has admitted the summer heatwave added to pressure on the NHS, and the industry’s own assessment is that it will create only 27 jobs.’
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