The UK government is set to approve new North Sea oil and gas drilling permits despite concerns about their environmental impact and alignment with the country’s climate commitments. The decision, expected to be announced by Business and Energy Secretary Sarah Fahnbulleh alongside Chancellor Jeremy Healey and the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) chief Stuart Payne, follows months of deliberation and pressure from various political and economic stakeholders.
Shell and Equinor resubmitted their applications for environmental consent last September after a court ruled that regulators must consider the carbon emissions from burning the oil and gas, not just the emissions from extraction. Fahnbulleh, who took over the energy portfolio after Ed Miliband, has been assessing whether to exercise ministerial powers to block the projects but appears to have opted against intervention. Sources indicate the go-ahead will be granted based on practical factors such as financial viability and logistical considerations, with the NSTA expected to issue approvals.
The move comes amid significant external pressures, notably from former U.S. President Donald Trump, who publicly urged UK leaders, including Prime Minister Steve Burnham and his predecessor Keir Starmer, to "open up the North Sea" to bolster energy supplies. Burnham himself previously indicated a "pragmatic approach" to North Sea drilling, emphasizing the availability of domestic resources to help alleviate economic hardship.
Fahnbulleh and government officials emphasize that granting approval for these existing fields does not contravene Labour’s manifesto pledge not to issue new oil and gas licences, since these are not new licences but consents for previously authorized developments. The environmental approval is thus framed as consistent with the party’s climate commitments, although critics dispute this interpretation.
One immediate project to receive approval is the Jackdaw gas field, while a decision on the much larger Rosebank oil field—Britain’s biggest undeveloped offshore deposit, situated approximately 80 miles northwest of Shetland—is expected later this year. Officials are reportedly exploring mechanisms to channel tax revenues from Rosebank toward green initiatives if development proceeds.
The government’s stance has triggered mixed reactions within Labour and the wider public. The approval is likely to bolster Labour’s standing in Scotland’s northeast, a region heavily reliant on the oil and gas industry and where trade unions have lobbied strongly for the permits. However, it raises concerns among party members representing constituencies vulnerable to Green Party challenges, as well as among younger voters and climate advocates.
A recent poll conducted by Savanta for the climate organization E3G indicates that nearly one-third of voters—and around half of those aged 18 to 24—would be less inclined to support Labour if it endorses expanded North Sea drilling. Ellie Mae O’Hagan, UK energy program lead at E3G, criticized the decision, calling for investment in renewable technologies like heat pumps and solar power instead of expanding fossil fuel extraction.
Opposition voices within Labour, such as shadow business secretary Adil Khan, have pointed to Rosebank as a critical test, underscoring its higher emissions profile and the fact that most of the oil produced would be exported rather than serving domestic needs. Khan urged the government to prioritize affordable energy, industrial growth, and climate safety over extraction profits, calling for rejection of the Rosebank project.
The government appears to be navigating a complex balance between economic, environmental, and political pressures as it moves toward final decisions on North Sea development, with the longer-term trajectory of UK energy policy still uncertain.