Overview
- Reports, which emerged this week, say Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh are considering whether to approve drilling at the Rosebank oil field and the Jackdaw gas field.
- Approving new activity would conflict with Labour’s 2024 manifesto promise not to issue new oil and gas licences and would mark a major policy shift from the party’s election pledge.
- Past legal rulings require planners to count emissions from burning extracted fuel and a 2025 Court of Session ruling overturned earlier consent, meaning any new approval faces fresh legal scrutiny.
- Campaigners and frontline emergency-service representatives staged protests outside DESNZ and warned that new drilling would worsen the climate risks that are already stretching fire and rescue services.
- DESNZ and industry backers argue the North Sea remains vital for jobs and energy security, but critics note most Rosebank oil would be exported and call for investment in renewables and just-transition jobs.