By Sarah Young and Shadia Nasralla
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 would start to supply gas to British homes and businesses from as early as the end of this month, helping to counter soaring energy prices stoked by the Iran war.
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 would increase domestic gas production by around 6% at its peak and have a lifespan of up to 11 years, boosting energy security and protecting 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.
NEW ENERGY WEALTH FUND
Burnham, who took office in July, has been trying to strike the right balance between helping voters with rising bills while also retaining the support of his own lawmakers who favour prioritising the environment.
By setting up the New Energy Wealth Fund he will hope to appease those who believe that approving new gas fields is at odds with Britain’s climate change commitments, and following Britain’s hottest summer on record.
“Our approach will ensure we can boost our energy security, back British workers, ringfence future North Sea proceeds to speed up the green transition, hit our ambitious climate targets and – crucially – bring down bills,” Burnham said in a statement.
The Unite union welcomed the decision while the leader of the Green Party described it as “climate vandalism”.
The government has not yet approved Rosebank, an oil field which like Jackdaw has also been in limbo for years, after a 2025 court ruling temporarily blocked both developments.
Over the last two years, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged Burnham to expand drilling in the North Sea to help lower prices, following the basin’s sharp decline in production since its peak in the late 1990s.
Jackdaw is run by Adura, a joint venture between energy giants Shell and Norway’s Equinor.
(Reporting by Sarah Young and Kate Holton, additional reporting by William James and Shadia Nasralla. Editing by Mark Potter and Kate Holton)
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