Rajdeep Sandhu
Political Correspondent, BBC Scotland's The Nine

There has been a softening of the SNP's position. In the past it had a presumption against new oil and gas. Now ministers say decisions need to be taken in line with climate compatibility tests.

The Scottish government says: "We have been clear that utilising domestic oil and gas resources is preferable to international sources, where importation leads to a bigger carbon footprint.”

But it also wants the financial benefits to come back to Scotland and boost the renewable energy industry.

Stephen Gethins, Scotland Energy Minister, reacting to today's decision, says: "I am sure that the prime minister will agree that it is absolutely critical that if any new production goes ahead, then the economic benefits should be felt in Scotland and should be used to bring energy bills down, rather than flowing to plug more short-term spending gaps by the Treasury.”

Image source, Reuters

"Finally," Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch says of the Jackdaw decision.

"Labour spent two years faffing about to make a decision which Conservatives had already approved two years ago," she writes in a post on X.

"If they’d done this in the summer we’d have had that gas heating British homes this Christmas. An unnecessary waste of time and money by a party that puts its own interest above the country’s."

Shadow energy secretary Andrew Bowie echoes her comments, adding "at last" Labour have "done the right thing".

We can bring you more from the Today programme, where the chief executive of Jackdaw operator Adura has been speaking.

Neil McCulloch is being questioned about the criticism that Jackdaw will only provide 27 direct, full-time jobs.

He admits this number is "quite small" but says it only reflects the number of beds on the Jackdaw platform.

In reality, Jackdaw will support just under 300 jobs "associated" with Shearwater, a nearby hub where fluids will be processed, McCulloch says.

Image source, Reuters

Prime Minister Andy Burnham says he welcomes the decision by the energy secretary to approve production at Jackdaw, which "will protect hundreds of jobs and help keep millions of homes warm this winter".

"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."

He says they are committed to reaching net zero by 2050, but will still require oil and gas as part of energy needs "for decades to come".

"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."

Simon Jack
Business editor

Jackdaw will make up around 6% of the UK's total gas production but because we currently import around 60% of our gas, it will contribute less than 3% of the UK's total gas needs.

It will do little, if anything, to affect prices as they are set internationally.

Nevertheless, it will make the UK marginally less dependent on imports, will support dozens of direct jobs and potentially hundreds in the wider North Sea infrastructure and perhaps most importantly, with North Sea profits taxed at 78%, it will mean more tax revenue than if the gas was imported from Norway or the US.

Chris Mason
Political editor

Image source, Getty Images

Zack Polanski, Green Party leader, says the decision is "climate vandalism".

"Today’s decision by Labour is a betrayal of all of our futures, Labour has abandoned all credibility in the fight against climate change.

"The energy secretary has herself said it will make no difference to energy bills, the health secretary has admitted the summer heatwave added to pressure on the NHS and the industry’s own assessment is that will create only 27 jobs."

"This is a victory for Shell over the people."

The Green Party opposes the issuing of new licenses for oil and gas fields, supporting the 2025 court ruling declaring Jackdaw unlawful.

Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh now tells BBC Radio Scotland that the Rosebank oil field, off the coast of Shetland is a "different proposition" to Jackdaw, as the oil will be exported.

A decision on Rosebank has not been taken. She says she will "look at it".

Chancellor John Healey has just put this statement on X:

"I want Britain’s energy wealth to spark a new wave of clean power," he writes.

"Our decision to approve Jackdaw alongside the new Energy Wealth Fund means we invest in green transition and benefit from our existing natural resources."

Neil McCulloch, the chief executive of Adura, which operates Jackdaw, says they can now progress with pushing gas into the National Grid "well before winter".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he thanks the civil servants who have been working through the process during the legal pushback that has been ongoing for years.

Pushed on a criticism on that they produce more pollution in British gas fields than Norwegian ones, he says Jackdaw is a "very good" gas field.

He says "this is British gas, what is does bring is jobs, it brings economic value to the UK and it supports the supply chain as they transition into a future which will undoubtedly have more renewables within it".

Image source, Getty Images

Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh tells BBC Radio Scotland the gas from Jackdaw "will be in our homes and businesses this month" but it "won’t lower energy bills this winter".

Instead, she argues it makes sense to allow drilling on energy security grounds, and because it emits fewer emissions overall if the UK uses less imported energy.

In its announcement, the government says it remains committed to net zero and moving away from fossil fuels.

"But even on the path to net zero, the UK will still require oil and gas as part of our energy needs for decades to come," the statement says.

It says today's decision is consistent with Labour's 2024 manifesto pledge not to issue any new licences for oil and gas fields, while honouring existing ones.

"Recent events in the Middle East have triggered global energy shocks and pushed up bills for families across the country," the statement adds.

"At a time of global instability, homegrown energy can be a source of national strength."

Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh says "following careful consideration" she made the decision to approve production at Jackdaw.

She praises the "highly skilled" workers in the North Sea, which will help to heat homes this winter.

"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," she says.

"The decision is compatible with our legally binding climate commitments, and we remain resolute in ending new licences for oil and gas and achieving net zero by 2050."

• Read about the UK's energy commitments in our earlier post

Jackdaw will start to supply gas to British homes and businesses "from as early as the end of this month", the government says.

The chancellor will also announce today the launch of a "energy wealth fund" which will "use tax revenues from North Sea oil and gas to invest in renewable and low carbon energy projects".

The UK government has granted consent for gas to be produced from the Jackdaw gas field.

This is breaking news - we'll bring you more shortly.

The UK has committed to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, in order to limit global warming and climate change.

As part of this, they must meet interim targets.

Under the Paris Agreement, aimed at keeping the increase in global temperatures to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, the UK has committed to reducing economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by at least 68% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels.

The carbon budget has also been set - with an agreement in 2026 to commit to emissions reductions of 87% from 1990 levels by 2042.

The government is also committed to a "clean" power grid by 2030 - meaning at least 95% of Great Britain’s generation will be "clean".

Scotland, where Jackdaw is located, has its own net zero targets.

The Scottish government has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2045 - five years earlier than the UK.

But after repeatedly missing annual and interim targets, SNP ministers abandoned them in 2024 in favour of five-yearly carbon budgets.

The government is aiming to cut emissions by an average of 57% over the next five years and by 69% by 2035, when compared with 1990 levels.

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

This is a big deal. It's become symbolic of a commitment to green energy.

The assumption is that the energy secretary will announce that Jackdaw has passed a new environmental assessment.

If that happens, gas will be extracted from that field in the North Sea within a month.

Chancellor John Healey will be in Aberdeen today and a week out from the Budget, that tells us something about the argument we'll hear from the government: that this is about jobs, particularly in Scotland, but also about making sure that tax on companies extracting gas can be spent here in the UK.

But this is enormously controversial, environmentally and also politically because of the Labour manifesto commitment to not grant new licences to oil and gas production.

We can expect campaign groups and perhaps some Labour MPs to say Jackdaw has that licence already, but the government should honour the spirit of the manifesto commitment.

From speaking to ministers last night, the sense I got is that the government isn't too worried about the decision on Jackdaw.

They won't face opposition from the right, the Liberal Democrats have recently said they'd be happy for approval. The main opposition will come from the Green Party.

In its 2024 manifesto - which led to a landslide election win - Labour said it would not issue new licences for oil and gas fields in the North Sea.

It said doing so would harm the environment while failing to bring down the cost of energy bills.

Crucially though, the party also said it would not revoke existing licences. Jackdaw was approved by the Conservatives in 2022, although in 2025 a court ruled permission was granted unlawfully.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has spoken recently of the need for a "flexible" approach to energy - and is believed to be in favour of drilling more where licensing already exist in the North Sea.

Image source, Labour

Jackdaw is a gas field situated 150 miles east of Aberdeen and is operated by Adura, a joint venture between Shell and Norwegian state energy firm Equinor.

It sits close to the boundary between the British and Norwegian parts of the North Sea. It was discovered in 2005 but was seen as expensive and technically difficult to exploit.

Shell did not commit to its development until 2022, shortly after the Conservative government had granted permission for production.

Adura says Jackdaw would provide about 6% of UK gas production, enough to power 1.4 million homes. Once imports are taken into account, that equates to about 2% of national demand.

But it has faced opposition from environmental campaigners, with estimates suggesting Jackdaw could produce up to 35.8 million tonnes of carbon emissions over 11 years.

Adura said in September that if approval came that month, the field could start delivering gas to UK homes by this winter, as construction is "99% complete".

The UK government is about to announce its final decision on whether gas can extracted from the Jackdaw field off the east coast of Scotland.

Multiple Whitehall sources tell BBC News the government will make an announcement on the project today - possibly at 07:00 BST - with Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh expected to address MPs this afternoon.

The site was approved by the Conservative government in 2022, but faced legal challenges from Greenpeace and other environmental campaigners.

Last year, a judge ruled the development had been unlawfully approved, putting its future in doubt.

Environmental campaigners argue the site would raise carbon emissions - while developers say it is important for the UK’s energy security.

After detailed climate assessments were produced and sent for public consultation, the government will now announce whether the project can proceed - and under what conditions.

We’ll bring you the latest developments and announcements as they happen here.