Donald Trump: Jackdaw is great for the wealth and prosperity of wonderful Aberdeen

US President Donald Trump says the Jackdaw gas field being given the go-ahead by the UK Government is “great news”.

The controversial project, 150 miles east of Aberdeen and owned by Adura, has been approved despite campaigning by environmental groups and warnings from energy analysts.

Adura is a joint venture between Shell and the Norwegian state-owned Equinor.

It is one of two North Sea developments initially approved by the previous Conservative administration before the courts ruled the full environmental impacts of the fossil fuels drilled should be taken into account.

Labour had promised a ban on new drilling in the North Sea in its 2024 election manifesto, but new Prime Minister Andy Burnham vowed to take a “pragmatic” approach.

On Wednesday morning, his government announced Jackdaw would go ahead.

Trump, who owns a golf course in Balmedie in Aberdeenshire, previously said the people of Aberdeen were “dancing in the streets because the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has stated that he will be opening up, all the way, the invaluable North Sea Oil!”

On Wednesday, Trump, who has repeatedly called for greater drilling in the North Sea, said it was “great news for the wealth and prosperity of the United Kingdom, and the wonderful region of Aberdeen”.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, the US President said: “The U.K. has started drilling in the North Sea, one of the greatest and most prosperous areas of OIL in the World. They should go FULL BLAST!!! This will make the U.K. very wealthy again. TAKE DOWN THE COSTLY AND RIDICULOUS WINDMILLS!”

Burnham said the approval of the Jackdaw gas field will “protect hundreds of jobs and help keep millions of homes warm this winter” but insisted the Government remained “committed to moving towards renewable energy”.

Jackdaw will start supplying gas to homes and businesses from the end of the month, the Government said.

The Chancellor is to consider removing standing charges from gas bills, Burnham told the Commons as he defended the decision to approve Jackdaw.

Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said: “Following careful consideration of all relevant factors I have agreed that the regulator can grant consent for gas to be produced at Jackdaw, which will begin to supply the UK with gas from this winter thanks to the highly skilled and vital North Sea workers.

“This decision will support the country’s energy security with homegrown gas this winter and help minimise the UK’s use of imported higher-emission fuels as we continue our transition to renewables and nuclear.

“The decision is compatible with our legally binding climate commitments, and we remain resolute in ending new licences for oil and gas and achieving net zero by 2050.”

Chancellor John Healey has said that now is the time to make the most of the UK’s “homegrown energy”, with the approval of the Jackdaw gas field.

Speaking at the St Fergus gas terminal near Peterhead, he said: “Now is the time, with the conflict and the rising prices, to make the most of our own homegrown energy through production from Jackdaw.

“And I’m also announcing this new energy wealth fund.

“It means the extra tax revenues that come from North Sea oil and gas can be directed into developing more clean energy projects for the future.”

Information submitted on behalf of the project said that at peak production, Jackdaw is expected to contribute around 6.5% of UK Continental Shelf gas production, which would produce enough energy to heat more than 1.4 million homes.

A decision on Rosebank, the largest untapped oil field in the North Sea, is to take “a bit longer”.

The oil and gas industry, Tories and Reform have been calling for both fields to be given the go-ahead to boost energy security and economic growth, but environmentalists and analysts have been warning they will harm climate action, do nothing to bring down bills, and security is better served with renewables.

Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney has changed his party’s stance on the North Sea developments. His predecessors Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf both opposed the new drilling projects.

But Swinney has taken a far softer approach, telling STV News that Jackdaw and Rosebank had to be assessed on whether they would deliver higher or lower carbon emissions compared with importing oil and gas from abroad.