Jackdaw gas field expected to be approved by ministers following months of speculation

Ministers are expected to announce their long-awaited decision regarding a new gas drilling project off the Aberdeen coast on Wednesday.

Approval for the Jackdaw gas field is widely anticipated following months of speculation over its future.

It is one of two North Sea sites, alongside the Rosebank oil field, facing a ruling by the Labour Government after consent by the previous Conservative administration was halted by a legal challenge last year.

Donald Trump previously claimed the UK is "sitting on top of gold", urging Prime Minister Andy Burnham to permit more drilling in the basin, as he did to former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer.

Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said deciding on Rosebank, the largest untapped oil field in the North Sea, will take "a bit longer", suggesting a separate decision from Jackdaw.

This follows statements from Mr Burnham, who said the government will not back away from the issue.

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said last week ministers are being "cautious" over public announcements to avoid the "mistakes" of the previous government.

Speaking on the BBC’s Radio Scotland Breakfast programme on Friday, Mr Alexander said: “Our predecessors, the Conservatives, made such a mess of the process of approval, both for Jackdaw and Rosebank, that they ended up in court.

“And that’s why we are cautious, careful, and often quite circumspect in what we say publicly about these decisions, because we don’t want to see further delay as a result of more court action.

“I’m careful in what I say publicly because we don’t want to make the same mistakes as our Conservative predecessors, which led to the whole programme being delayed as a consequence of judicial challenge.”

Mr Burnham said he would “take a pragmatic approach when it comes to the North Sea” since coming to power in the summer.

The outcome will be seen by environmentalists as a key test of Mr Burnham’s credibility on climate change.

He has faced pressure from environmental groups to “stick to the spirit of Labour’s manifesto commitment” and refuse consent for either of the schemes.

The 2024 manifesto committed to issuing no new oil and gas licences for the North Sea.

However, proponents of Jackdaw and Rosebank within the party have argued that neither are new fossil fuel fields, given the wheels were in motion to tap them ahead of Labour winning power.