Miatta Fahnbulleh is leaning towards rejecting the giant Rosebank oilfield, the Guardian understands, in what would be a blow for the North Sea energy industry and a major victory for climate campaigners. Officials say the energy secretary is minded to refuse approval for the field, which would be one of the biggest in the North Sea. Fahnbulleh approved the smaller Jackdaw gasfield on Wednesday, prompting protests from some in the green movement.
But she told the Guardian that the rationale behind Jackdaw did not apply to Rosebank, saying the UK would rely on gas as it made the transition to net zero and that it would be better to take it from relatively low-carbon sources in the North Sea than importing it. The field would emit about seven times the carbon of Jackdaw and Fahnbulleh is understood to believe that it would do less for UK energy security, given most of the oil would be exported. On a visit to Aberdeen, Fahnbulleh said she had been satisfied that Jackdaw, which is due to begin producing gas within weeks and will add an estimated 36m tonnes of carbon emissions, would not violate the UK’s climate commitments.
Fahnbulleh has promised that future revenues from the North Sea will be spent on green energy projects through a new energy wealth fund. The fund will be given £2bn in the budget, she said, some of which will be reallocated from other parts of her department’s budget. However, she could not say exactly which tax revenues would be given to the new fund, or how much that might generate.
While Labour’s 2024 election manifesto committed to a ban on new drilling licences in the North Sea, the companies behind Jackdaw and Rosebank oilfield project have sought approval for existing licences. The companies resubmitted their applications for environmental approval earlier this year. The Jackdaw field will start supplying gas to homes and businesses from the end of the month, the government said after approving the scheme.
Asked how confident he was that the Rosebank field would be approved, Neil McCulloch, the chief executive of Adura, one of the companies behind the plans, told the Press Association: “We’re very confident now.” He said: “We’ve seen a decision made that there is a process that can result in a decision, but it’s a matter for the secretary of state and her team to examine the two fields separately. But we believe we’ve done as good a job in arguing our case with Rosebank as we did with Jackdaw. It will last longer than Jackdaw, and so I’m sure she’ll take that into account when she makes her decision in terms of the jobs and economic impact for the UK.” The Jackdaw announcement could boost Labour’s position in north-east Scotland, where much of the industry is based and where unions have been campaigning heavily for the permits to be granted.
But it is likely to cause angst among some Labour MPs, especially those in seats where they face a challenge from the Green party. A poll by Savanta for the climate group E3G, seen by the Guardian, found that nearly a third of voters say they would be less likely to vote Labour if it gave the go-ahead for more North Sea oil drilling. That includes almost exactly a third of those who voted Labour at the last election, and about half of 18- to 24-year-olds.
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