Ed Miliband to give green light to first major North Sea gasfield project in a decade
The energy secretary is expected to approve Jackdaw drilling as the Iran war puts pressure on the Government over energy security fears
Ed Miliband is expected to approve plans for the first major North Sea oil and gasfield project in almost ten years.
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In 2024, after the High Court ruled against a licence for the Jackdaw gasfield because carbon emissions generated from burning the gas it produced had not been taken into account.
But amid political pressure during the war in Iran, Whitehall officials say the energy secretary may approve drilling at the gasfield, 150 miles off Aberdeen.
If it goes ahead, the company said it could produce six per cent of the UK’s future gas supply from this winter.
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Miliband will not make a final decision until the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning completes an assessment under the new criteria. This is not expected before next month’s elections in Scotland.
But Whitehall sources say Miliband no longer considers the project incompatible with the government’s carbon reduction commitments, The Times reports.
However, he is said to still be opposed to drilling the Rosebank field, which mostly contains oil.
Both the GMB union and chancellor Rachel Reeves support increased drilling in the North Sea. But the prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has not commented publicly on the issue due to changing public opinion as the war in the Middle East continues.