UK Government approves Jackdaw gas field

The controversial Jackdaw gas field has been approved by the UK Government.

It is expected to start supplying gas from as early as this month and could have a production lifespan of up to 11 years.

UK energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has said the decision will not impact the UK’s ambition to reach net zero by 2050, while Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said it was a “win for Aberdeen”.

Scottish energy minister Stephen Gethins said the benefits must be “felt in Scotland”.

But environmental groups have expressed disappointment, arguing it will not reduce energy bills.

The Labour government made a manifesto commitment not to approve any new oil and gas licenses, but it said it would honour any existing ones.

Jackdaw was originally approved by the previous Conservative government, but it was reversed by the courts after environmental groups challenged it.

The original application, the courts said, did not include a complete environmental impact assessment as it did not cover lifetime emissions – only those released during construction.

A revised assessment said the field would produce 35.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions or equivalent during its lifetime.

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.”

The UK Government has also announced a new Energy Wealth Fund, which will reinvest tax revenues from oil and gas into renewables and clean energy.

Chancellor John Healey has said an initial £2bn has been set aside for this project. The announcement comes ahead of the budget next week.

The Scottish Government has said it hopes the decision will provide stability for the sector and called for the UK Government to establish a “futures fund”.

Gethins said: “It is crucial that all further income from oil and gas resources taken by the UK Treasury is placed in a future generations fund.  That would deliver a long term benefit from a limited resource. Any such fund should grow Scotland's renewables industry, support the communities who have generated hundreds of billions of pounds in taxation for Westminster, and strengthen the supply chain to ensure ongoing investment and job creation in Scotland.

“I am sure that the prime minister will agree that it is absolutely critical that if any new production goes ahead, then the economic benefits should be felt in Scotland and should be used to bring energy bills down, rather than flowing to plug more short term spending gaps by the Treasury.”

A decision on the Rosebank oil field, which sits off the coast of Shetland, was also previously approved and successfully challenged in court. No decision has yet been made on its future.

Lang Banks, director of WWF Scotland said: “This is deeply disappointing, but not unexpected news. Disappointing as this license won’t cut households’ soaring energy bills and it’s unclear if it will even boost our energy security.  The best way to achieve that is to get on with the clean energy transition and reject out of hand the even more damaging Rosebank oil field.”

Katherine May, head of Oxfam Scotland, said: "The prime minister promised to rise to the climate challenge. Instead, he's folded like a deckchair at the first sign of pressure from an industry whose ballooning bank balances depend on keeping us hooked on fossil fuels… Rosebank is now the real reckoning. To approve a project whose emissions dwarf Jackdaw's would be both reprehensible and reckless. The science is clear; the choice should be too.

“And while Scottish Ministers have mastered the art of saying everything except what they actually think about more drilling, it’s obvious that the time for carefully calibrated ambiguity is over. They should be clear that Scotland's future lies in home-grown clean renewable energy and creating good jobs with a long-term future for workers and communities, not by doubling down on an industry in decline.”