LONDON, October 21 (Aalimi Nation) – The United Kingdom has approved the Jackdaw gasfield in the North Sea, with the government saying production could start by the end of October and supply British homes and businesses soon afterwards.

Energy Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh announced the decision on Wednesday. The government said the field is expected to raise domestic gas output by about 6 per cent at its peak and could operate for up to 11 years. Jackdaw is run by Adura, a joint venture between Shell and Equinor.

Government: energy security and jobs

Ms Fahnbulleh said the project would not by itself reduce household energy bills. "This was about energy security," she said in a radio interview. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the approval would "protect hundreds of jobs and help keep millions of homes warm", adding that the country would "still require oil and gas as part of our energy needs for decades to come".

Alongside the approval, it announced a New Energy Wealth Fund, which would start with an initial payment of £2 billion. Ministers said the fund would be topped up using tax revenue from North Sea oil and gas and invested in renewable and low-carbon projects.

Criticism from environmental groups and the Greens

The decision drew criticism from opposition and campaign groups. Green Party leader Zack Polanski called it "climate vandalism" and argued that it would do nothing to lower bills. Ami McCarthy, head of politics at Greenpeace UK, said the approval showed the influence of fossil fuel lobbyists on energy policy and urged a faster move away from oil and gas.

Jess Ralston of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit said Jackdaw had become a symbol of a wider argument over the North Sea. Environmental groups could also mount a fresh legal challenge.

Why Jackdaw has been contested

The field was first approved in 2022 under the previous Conservative government. Climate campaigners challenged that consent in court, and a 2025 ruling barred extraction until the government granted fresh consent that accounts for emissions produced when the gas is burned.

The Labour government's 2024 election manifesto pledged to block new North Sea drilling. Officials say Jackdaw falls outside that pledge because its licence was granted by an earlier government. Mr Burnham took office in July 2026.

Prices, supply and the wider context

Higher energy prices linked to the war in Ukraine and the conflict involving Iran have weighed on British households and businesses. Consultancy Wood Mackenzie has said the UK's North Sea is about 90 per cent depleted in commercially recoverable resources, and many of the international companies that pioneered drilling there roughly 60 years ago have withdrawn.

Critics, including climate campaigners, argue that the approval undermines the government's green pledges.

What happens next

The operator is expected to begin supplying gas to the national grid before the end of October, the government said. Attention is likely to turn next to Rosebank, the largest undeveloped oil and gas reservoir in British waters, which was also at the centre of the court challenge and has not yet been given fresh consent.

Campaigners had not said whether they would go back to court over Jackdaw, and no filing had been reported by Wednesday evening.