Why it’s nonsensical for Labour not to approve Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields
The Jackdaw field could deliver around 6 per cent of UK gas in time for this winter if approved now
In the last 18 months, there has been a growing recognition from the UK Government that regulation is becoming a brake on economic growth. From planning reform to major infrastructure, ministers have increasingly acknowledged that projects are being tied up in slow and complex processes.
Their message has been clear: if we are to unlock economic growth, the UK must be a country that encourages – rather than hinders – investment at pace and at scale. Yet for all the talk of unlocking investment in other sectors, two of the most significant investments in the UK economy – the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields – remain stuck in regulatory limbo, with a decision on their approval already long overdue.
Jackdaw, for instance, has now been awaiting resolution since May 2022. In that same period, Norway has approved 25 new oil and gas developments – and the costs of that delay to the UK economy are already clear.
Energy security
Together, Jackdaw and Rosebank represent billions of pounds of investment and will support 3,000 highly skilled jobs. Both projects will underpin a supply chain that stretches across the UK and is critical to the growth of offshore wind, hydrogen and carbon capture. In Norway, continued project approvals have ensured it has the supply chain to deliver the next generation of low-carbon energy.
But timely approvals of new oil and gas projects have also strengthened Norway’s energy security. And this matters now more than ever.
The UK imports around half of the gas it consumes, with roughly a fifth in the form of liquified natural gas (LNG), which travels around the world to reach us, and is exposed to global price shocks and geopolitical tension.
That is gas that is drilled for, frozen, loaded on a tanker, sailed through potentially treacherous waters and warmed up again. All that energy, and carbon emissions, before it even heats a single home. A fifth of the global supply of that LNG comes from Ras Laffan – a major gas facility in Qatar currently damaged following Iranian missile strikes.
A critical moment
It is nonsensical for us to spurn the North Sea in this context. Jackdaw, a single North Sea gas field, could on its own deliver around 6 per cent of UK gas in time for this winter if approved now. Rosebank, similarly, could produce its first oil within a year of approval. That is a material contribution to national resilience at a critical moment.
And yet, despite having passed extensive environmental scrutiny and sitting within existing carbon budgets, both Jackdaw and Rosebank remain unresolved. That means the issue is no longer whether the regulatory system is robust – it is whether it is capable of reaching any conclusion at all within a reasonable timescale.
Ultimately, a system that cannot decide does not simply delay projects, it deters future investment, not just in oil and gas but also renewables as well.
It is right that ministers want to tackle cumbersome regulatory processes. But that principle must be applied consistently, regardless of sector. If the UK Government is serious about ending regulatory limbo and driving investment – and with a decision on both projects already long overdue – it must approve both Jackdaw and Rosebank now.
Sara Thiam is chief executive of Prosper, a cross-sector membership alliance that aims to strengthen Scotland's economy
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