British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has reversed the Labour government’s previous ban on new oil and gas licenses and approved the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea, as the UK seeks to boost its energy security.
The British government, in a statement, said the Jackdaw decision is expected to increase domestic gas production by around 6 percent at its peak, protecting hundreds of jobs, and adding an estimated 2.9 billion pounds ($3.88 billion) to the UK economy.
During a visit to Scotland in August 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump described the oil and gas reserves in the North Sea as a “treasure chest” that the UK should urgently unlock.
The UK’s energy minister, Miatta Fahnbulleh, said the project could start supplying gas to British homes and businesses from as early as the end of this month.
She announced the decision in Aberdeen in the north east of Scotland, which is 150 miles west of the Jackdaw field. Adura, the company responsible for Jackdaw, is a joint venture between Shell and a Norwegian company, Equinor.
“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,” Fahnbulleh said.
“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.”
In January 2023, then-Labour Party leader Keir Starmer announced it would not grant any new oil or gas field licences, a policy that—despite opposition from the trade unions—he introduced when Labour won the July 2024 election.
‘Pragmatic Approach’: Burnham
However, Burnham, who replaced Starmer as prime minister in July, said his government was taking a “pragmatic approach.”
“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,” Burnham said.
Burnham said he was still committed to moving toward renewable energy and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.
“Even on our ambitious climate path, we’ll still require oil and gas as part of our energy needs for decades to come,” he said.
In July, after they had their first phone call, Trump said Burnham had told him he was planning to change the policy.
“If you use the North Sea, the UK will be a really rich country,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office at the time. “I cannot get the point across. The new gentleman, when I spoke to him, said he’s going to open up the North Sea.”
The British government is also setting up an Energy Wealth Fund, with a 2 billion-pound down payment to “reinvest oil and gas revenues into the climate transition.”
The chancellor of the exchequer, John Healey, said he wanted the UK’s energy wealth to “spark a new wave of clean power.”
“Through our new Energy Wealth Fund, we will invest in the clean energy industries of the future, creating jobs, driving growth and strengthening Britain’s energy security,” Healey said.
A general view of the BP Eastern Trough Area Project oil platform in the North Sea, around 100 miles east of Aberdeen, Scotland, on Feb. 24, 2014. Andy Buchanan/WPA Pool/Getty Images
In a post on X, the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), John Swinney, welcomed the Jackdaw announcement, which he said will provide some certainty for the north east of Scotland after “many years of difficulty thanks to UK Government policy.”
“It is vital that the economic benefits of our energy are felt here in Scotland and used to bring energy bills down, rather than flowing to the Treasury to plug more short term spending gaps,” Swinney said.
‘Climate Vandalism’: Greens
The UK’s biggest trade union, Unite, also welcomed the decision, in a post on X.
“This gives us a bit more time to create and fund a concrete plan for commensurate jobs for workers currently working in the North Sea,” the union’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, said.
But the leader of the Green Party, Zack Polanski, described it as “climate vandalism.”
“It will do nothing to lower bills,” Polanski wrote in a post on X. “It will do lots for the profits of the oil & gas companies. And will continue us further down the path of floods and wildfires. Disastrous decision from Labour.”
A decision is still awaited from the government on Rosebank, a new oil field near the Shetland Islands, which has been in political and commercial limbo for several years.
But Fahnbulleh told BBC Radio Scotland that Rosebank was a “different proposition” to Jackdaw, because the oil from Rosebank was designed for export, while Jackdaw’s gas was pumped straight into the British energy grid.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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