UK Approves Jackdaw Gas Field, Splitting Opinion on Security and Climate
The UK government has approved the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea, clearing the way for production to begin as early as the end of this month. The field, about 150 miles east of Aberdeen and operated by Shell and Equinor's joint venture Adura, is expected to raise domestic gas production by around 6% at its peak and operate for up to 11 years. The government expects it to support hundreds of jobs and add an estimated £2.9 billion to the economy.
The decision comes with a counterweight. The Chancellor has announced a new Energy Wealth Fund, starting with £2 billion, which will use North Sea tax revenues to invest in renewable and low-carbon energy. The government says the aim is to "substantially delink" gas and electricity by the end of this Parliament, so gas sets the price of electricity less often.
The government presents Jackdaw as a matter of energy security after this year's price shocks linked to the Middle East. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said it will protect jobs and help keep homes warm, and the Energy Secretary has said the project will not stop the UK meeting its legal carbon limits or reaching net zero by 2050. It also fits with Labour's pledge not to issue new exploration licences, the government argues, since Jackdaw was already licensed. Notably, the government is not claiming it will cut bills. Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has said cheaper bills "was not a consideration" and the decision "was about energy security".
That is part of why reaction has split. Environmental groups and the Green Party say the decision locks in more fossil fuel production while doing nothing for households. Green Party leader Zack Polanski called it "climate vandalism" that "will do nothing to lower bills", and Greenpeace UK said it showed the "toxic grip" of fossil fuel lobbyists on energy policy.
Supporters in business, unions and Scottish politics welcome the jobs and the certainty for the North East. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who has criticised how long the decision took, said the ban on new oil and gas licences should be repealed, putting the debate over the government's wider North Sea policy back in focus. Abroad, Donald Trump congratulated the UK, saying it should "go FULL BLAST" and "take down the costly and ridiculous windmills", a message that sits awkwardly with the government's insistence that Jackdaw sits alongside its renewable ambitions.