LONDON, Oct 21 (Reuters) – Britain on Wednesday approved the Jackdaw North Sea gas field, ending years of legal and political wrangling that had pitted the Labour government’s climate commitments against its push to bolster energy security.
Britain’s energy minister, Miatta Fahnbulleh, said the project will start to supply gas to British homes and businesses from as early as the end of this month.
At the same time, she said a new Energy Wealth Fund would be established by the government with a £2 billion downpayment to reinvest oil and gas revenues into the climate transition.
Fahnbulleh said Jackdaw was expected to increase domestic gas production by around 6% at its peak and support the country’s gas supply over its lifespan of up to 11 years, boosting energy security and protecting hundreds of jobs.
“At a time when people are really struggling, it’s right that we look in a responsible way at maximising the existing energy reserves we have in Britain that could help,” said Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
“Even on our ambitious climate path, we’ll still require oil and gas as part of our energy needs for decades to come. That’s why we’re taking a pragmatic approach to the North Sea.”
Adura, the joint venture between energy giants Shell and Norway’s Equinor that operates the project, has said Jackdaw will produce up to 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent of natural gas per day at peak output.
The fate of Jackdaw had been in limbo for years.
The previous Conservative government approved the project in 2022, but climate activists challenged the decision in court alongside approval for the Rosebank oil and gas field. A 2025 ruling barred operators from extracting oil or gas until they received fresh government consent that takes into account emissions from the burning of the fields’ hydrocarbons.
The decision has taken on added significance for Burnham since he took office in July.
Britain’s high energy costs for households and industry have weighed on the economy, while US President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged Burnham to expand drilling in the North Sea to help lower prices.
At the same time, the issue has become a rallying point for climate activists, who say approving new fossil fuel projects undermines Labour’s green pledges and ignores warnings from a summer of record-breaking heat across Europe.
(Reporting by Sarah Young and Kate Holton, additional reporting by William James and Shadia Nasralla. Editing by Mark Potter)
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