Shell, energy giant and one of the joint owners of Jackdaw operator Adura, has welcomed the government's approval.

"This is an important step in ensuring the UK North Sea can continue to contribute to the country’s energy security and economy," Shell UK chief of staff Tony Nunan says.

“We will continue to work constructively with Government and Adura to support secure energy, investment and growth in the UK," Nunan adds.

Angus Cochrane
BBC Scotland senior political reporter

The Jackdaw gas field, initially approved in 2022, has been subject to years of debates with strong pushback from environmental groups.

Environmentalists insist that more drilling would hamper efforts to cut planet-warming carbon emissions as deadly heatwaves and extreme weather affect billions across the globe.

They also say starting production would not protect energy security and that transitioning sooner to greener technologies would be better for supporting jobs.

The Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled last year that Jackdaw had been unlawfully approved because the government had failed to take into account the climate impact of burning extracted oil and gas from the sites.

A judge ruled that more detailed climate assessments had to be published.

Operater Adura said the climate effects would be "minor" because the UK has a "well-regulated industry" aligned with the Paris Agreement, a legally binding commitment to limit global warming to between 1.5 and 2C.

However, Greenpeace UK chief scientist Doug Parr said opening a new field was "wholly incompatible" with the Paris Agreement.

Greenpeace co-executive director Areeba Hamid has condemned the government's decision to extract gas from Jackdaw in the North Sea.

Greenpeace led legal action against the Conservative government's approval of Jackdaw in 2022, ultimately leading to the project getting blocked by a judge in 2025.

Hamid tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme it's "the wrong decision" in terms of lowering energy bills, providing energy security and addressing climate change.

"The answer is not to choose between gas and gas, given where we are on climate impacts, the answer is to choose between gas and renewable energy," she says, adding that we need a transition plan away from planet-warming fossil fuels.

Another contentious subject is Rosebank oil field off Shetland. Greenpeace also launched a campaign against this project, which was blocked alongside Jackdaw.

Hamid points out that while "Jackdaw is a bad decision, but Rosebank is a far worse decision, [as] 90% of that oil will be traded on the international market, we don't get to decide how much we pay for that".

Simon Jack
Business editor

As part of the Jackdaw approval announcement, the government said it will allow for some new oil and gas production in areas that are near existing sites.

These so called "tie backs" can extend the life of existing fields to keep them viable for longer while still preventing exploration in new unlicensed areas.

The government has raised this prospect before but this is a firmer commitment and some may see this as an unwelcome expansion of the scope of new drilling in the North Sea.

Faisal Islam
Economics editor

The chancellor has announced alongside the approval of the Jackdaw gas development that a new Energy Wealth Fund will be established from North Sea oil and gas revenues to invest in clean energy.

It will invest in renewable and low carbon energy projects and is starting with a £2bn funding injection from government.

Revenues are currently £4bn a year, but had been projected to fall sharply over the coming years by the official forecasters the OBR, amid dwindling production and prices.

The announcement of Jackdaw, and the possible expansion of existing fields under “tie backs”, as well as the rising energy prices, will increase likely future revenues.

The UK has some catching up to do with its North Sea neighbour Norway. Norway established a petroleum fund with the tax receipts and dividends from its still state controlled oil sector in the 1970s.

The fund was invested in shares across the world and is now worth $2.4 trillion, the biggest sovereign fund in the world.

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

We’ve heard a series of interviews from the Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh and can get a sense of how the government is wanting to frame this decision.

This is not about lowering energy prices. As Fahnbulleh said, this decision "won’t lower energy bills this winter".

Instead the government is making an explicit link between the tax it will raise from this gas field, and funding renewable energy projects.

The chancellor will later today commit £2 billion into a new Energy Wealth Fund. That pot of cash will be used to fund low carbon and renewable energy projects.

Using the tax from Jackdaw specifically to fund the transition to green energy is something some Labour MPs have called for. It could help ease any discomfort on Labour’s backbenches about this decision.

Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh is asked whether the UK's target of reaching net zero by 2050 has to be reconsidered.

"That's not my view," Fahnbulleh replies.

Fahnbulleh is then asked about Rosebank, an oil field the government is yet to make its decision on.

The energy secretary says she will make decisions on a "case by case" basis, and she'll be going through all the information on Rosebank before making a decision "in due course".

Radio 4 presenter Justin Webb mentions her colleague Ed Miliband's comments on Rosebank when it was approved in 2023, calling it a "colossal waste of taxpayer money and climate vandalism".

"Was he wrong?" Fahnbulleh is asked.

She says the government will not make any decision that is "incompatible" with its climate commitments, including getting to net zero by 2050.

Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh is asked on the Today programme whether she has changed her tune on fossil fuels.

When Fahnbulleh was chief executive of the New Economics Foundation, the think tank put out a statement saying it would be harder and harder to keep global temperatures steady each time a fossil fuel project is approved.

Fahnbulleh says she still agrees with this take, saying "we have to move away from fossil fuels, the science is very clear".

However, as the UK transitions to renewable energy, it has to "be realistic about the world we're in", she says.

Fahnbulleh adds that the UK is "going to need gas" as part of the energy mix during this transition, and it is preferable for this gas to be "homegrown".

Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh is now speaking to the BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

You can watch live at the top of this page, and we'll bring you the key lines.

Just before 07:00 BST, the government issued a press release, saying production from Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea had been approved.

It comes four years after a licence was first granted, and almost two years after a court ruled that process was unlawful. Here's a recap of a busy morning:

• The announcement says Jackdaw "will start to supply gas to British homes and businesses from the end of this month" - but it won't lower your bills, Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh tells the BBC
• Jackdaw "is expected to increase domestic gas production by around 6% at its peak", the government says, "supporting the UK’s gas supply over its lifespan of up to 11 years"

• Chancellor John Healey says a new "Energy Wealth Fund" - using tax revenue from oil and gas - will help pay for "green transition"
• But Zack Polanski, Green Party leader for England and Wales, calls the Jackdaw decision "climate vandalism", adding: "This is a victory for Shell over the people"
• Polanski says Jackdaw will only create 27 jobs - but the boss of the site's operators, Neil McCulloch, says it will support hundreds more
• Prime Minister Andy Burnham says the government remains committed to net zero by 2050, but says it's right to "maximise" the UK's "existing energy reserves"
• Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch backs the Jackdaw decision - but accuses the government of "faffing about"

We can now bring you reaction from environmental groups.

Friends of the Earth Scotland accuses the government of “deliberately" putting "hundreds of thousands more people at risk”.

"Giving Jackdaw the green light is guaranteeing more climate impacts like the deadly heatwaves and wildfires in the UK this summer, and the devastating floods in Nepal," it says.

Elsewhere, World Wildlife Fund calls the Jackdaw decision "disappointing".

"This decision will only support a tiny number of jobs, do nothing to lower prices, barely move the needle on growth, and undermine the UK’s climate leadership," the charity says in a statement.

Image source, PA

Rajdeep Sandhu
Political Correspondent, BBC Scotland

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, 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."

Jackdaw will contribute less than 3% of UK's total gas needspublished at 07:28 BST

07:28 BST

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 in England and Wales, 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 licences 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".