Fahnbulleh Backs Jackdaw Gasfield Approval — SkimNews
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- Miatta Fahnbulleh will recommend approving the Jackdaw gasfield off Aberdeen as soon as next week, with the North Sea Transition Authority potentially issuing formal approval a week later
- The £8.7bn Rosebank oilfield — the UK's biggest undeveloped field with up to 500m barrels — faces a decision later this year, with officials exploring a Norway-style model to channel proceeds into clean energy projects
- A judge previously rescinded environmental approvals for both fields after ruling that Shell and Equinor must account for carbon emissions from burning their products; both companies resubmitted applications earlier this year
- Granting the permits would not technically breach Labour's manifesto against new oil and gas licences, because both projects already hold operating licences
- Andy Burnham told MPs this week that people in north east Scotland 'have struggled with the impact of transition,' voicing concerns about the green shift for regional workers
- The Treasury has already booked Rosebank's revenues into its forecasts, complicating efforts to redirect oil proceeds — officials would need to pull money from elsewhere in departmental spending
- The industry says the two fields would deliver 10% of UK oil and gas output at peak, while campaigners put the carbon pollution damage at up to £336bn
Why it matters: Two major UK North Sea fossil fuel projects are advancing under Labour despite manifesto pledges against new oil and gas — with the £8.7bn Rosebank decision complicated by Treasury bookkeeping and Andy Burnham's intervention on Scottish worker concerns.
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