LONDON — The U.K. government under Prime Minister Andy Burnham has approved development of a large new gas field in the North Sea, a move aimed at shoring up energy security after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the war in Iran, but one likely to draw objections from the governing party's own supporters.
Miatta Fahnbulleh, the U.K. energy minister, said on the 21st that the government had "agreed that the regulator can grant consent for Jackdaw gas production," adding that the field "will start supplying gas to Britain this winter."
She said the decision would support energy security and help minimize the use of higher-emission imported fuels during the shift to renewables and nuclear power. The government also plans to set up an energy fund worth 2 billion pounds (about 3.54 trillion won, or $2.7 billion) to reinvest oil and gas revenue into the climate transition.
Jackdaw is a large offshore natural gas field in the central North Sea, owned by BG International, a subsidiary of the global energy company Shell. It was first discovered in 2005, but development stalled over questions about commercial viability. Shell submitted an environmental impact assessment in 2020, only for the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) to reject it the following year. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine set off an energy crisis and raised the stakes for supply-chain stability, the government approved development in June 2022.
That approval was overturned last year, when a court ruled it unlawful following litigation by environmental groups, leaving Jackdaw to await a fresh decision — which the Burnham government has now granted. The field is estimated to hold resources equivalent to about 200 million barrels of oil.
Burnham had signaled an expansion of Jackdaw development since taking office in July. Elected on a platform of improving quality of life, Burnham said before taking office that he would speed up drilling at licensed North Sea fields and would give more powers to Aberdeen, Scotland, the hub of the North Sea oil and gas industry, to help it lead the energy transition. Sharply higher energy prices stemming from the war in Iran, together with the approach of the winter heating season, are also seen as having weighed on the decision.
Still, no decision has been reached on Rosebank, the largest undeveloped field in U.K. waters, also in the North Sea. Rosebank is estimated to hold as much as 500 million barrels of crude, and because crude is more likely to be sold on international markets than used directly in Britain, opposition from environmental groups has been far more intense.
The decision leaves Burnham, who is on the progressive wing of his party, exposed to a backlash from his existing base, Britain's Guardian reported. Labour, Burnham's party, has backed decarbonization, pledging in its 2024 general election manifesto to bar new North Sea drilling licenses.
A survey by the climate group E3G found that about a third of voters said approval of additional oil drilling in the North Sea would make them less likely to vote Labour. U.S. President Donald Trump, by contrast, voiced enthusiasm when Burnham took office, saying his oil and gas development would make Britain the richest country in the world. The New York Times said the prime minister's decision to approve new drilling put him in an unexpected alignment of interests with Trump.