Imogen James
Live editor

It was widely expected the government would approve drilling at Jackdaw gas field, but the decision has taken years regardless.

The North Sea project was approved by the Conservative government in 2022, but halted after a legal challenge by Greenpeace over environmental concerns, with a court ruling consent was granted unlawfully. Greenpeace today called the approval "wrong".

Making the announcement in Aberdeen, Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said homegrown gas still has a role to play despite the government's drive towards net zero - read more about the UK and Scotland's targets.

Cheaper bills? BBC Verify says most experts don’t expect the extra gas produced from it to translate into significantly lower payments.

Its impact on energy security will also be "relatively marginal" - contributing less than 3% of the UK's total gas needs.

The move has been broadly welcomed by the main UK political parties, as well as unions and business leaders, who cite job creation and improvements to energy security.

But Green Party leader in England and Wales Zack Polanski called it "climate vandalism" and protesters took signs and frustrations to the front door of Fahnbulleh's office.

From the Scottish National Party, there's no explicit thumbs up or down, the BBC's Scotland political editor writes, as this is a divisive issue within the party.

• We're now closing our live coverage - we've got the full story explained in our news piece

Ken Banks
BBC Scotland North East and Northern Isles reporter

We've been asking people on the streets of Aberdeen, the former oil capital of Europe, what they think about the government's approval of the Jackdaw gas field.

Here's what some of them told us:

Maria Bosher, 59, describes it as "good news".

"Something that should have been approved before now," she says.

"People feel there are still reserves there to be discovered and it helps both the north east of Scotland and the rest of the UK if we have reserves and are able to utilise them."

John McGregor, 63, says he's "been in the oil industry all my life" and feels it is "going to create a few thousand jobs".

"It's just a case of switching on the lights and it will start producing.

"The government should do more with oil and gas, definitely. We are suffering financially."

Lorraine Bruce, 51, also agrees it will be "a good thing", saying "the city is half of what it used to be during the height of oil and gas. It will be a positive thing."

"They are all on about net zero, but we still need to rely on gas and electricity.

"Until the infrastructure is there, it will save us and hopefully mean less tax. Give Scotland the energy security that it needs," she adds.

Image source, Getty Images

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has backed the decision but accuses the government of "faffing about".

Green Party leader in England and Wales Zack Polanski says the decision is "climate vandalism" and a "betrayal of all of our futures". The Scottish Greens say the PM has "continued to devastate our climate".

We've not heard from Lib Dem leader Ed Davey, but he has previously backed Jackdaw, saying it had "passed the climate test". The party’s energy spokesperson said earlier the UK hasn't moved away fast enough from oil and gas reliance.

Reform UK are also in favour, though the party's deputy leader Richard Tice has called its approval "painfully overdue". He's also backed approving the controversial Rosebank oil field in the North Sea.

The Scottish National Party has neither agreed nor disagreed, but its leader and First Minister John Swinney said it must "kickstart a renewed drive" to deliver Scotland's clean energy ambitions.

What could the Jackdaw decision mean for energy security?published at 15:30 BST

15:30 BST

By Ben Chu, policy and analysis correspondent, and Nicholas Barrett

The government has described the approval of the Jackdaw gas field as "boosting our energy security".

The UK imports around half of the natural gas it uses - most comes via pipeline from Norway but it also relies on imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), in particular from the US.

Some energy experts have suggested that in the event of physical interruptions to LNG, having additional North Sea gas from Jackdaw available and delivered through a pipeline which the UK controls might be valuable.

Dieter Helm, professor of economic policy at the University of Oxford, argues the North Sea should be part of the UK's national "gas security policy".

Other experts take a different view.

Robert Gross, director of the UK Energy Research Centre, told BBC Verify: "Since the North Sea is depleting, the contribution to energy security is debatable. The days when the UK was self-sufficient and a net exporter are long behind us."

Official forecasts suggest Jackdaw has the potential to meet only around 1.6% of total projected national gas demand between 2026 and 2036 - so even when Jackdaw is producing gas the UK will still be heavily reliant on imports.

Read more of BBC Verify's analysis of Jackdaw here.

Image source, UK Parliament

The House of Commons statement on today's Jackdaw decision gave Labour MPs an opportunity to scrutinise the move which the government itself admitted could damage the country's climate reputation.

While several party members have voiced their support for the decision, Labour MP Chris Ward said he was concerned about the message it sends on how serious the UK is about tackling the climate emergency, and that it may be a "prelude" to a bigger decision on the Rosebank field.

Labour MP Richard Burgon has also strongly criticised today's decision by saying it "flies in the face of all the evidence" and would do nothing to lower energy bills or create jobs.

Energy minister Michael Shanks responded by saying the government was still "absolutely committed" to tackling climate change, adding Rosebank is a "separate consenting decision" which will be made in due course.

Concerns have also been raised on how working class communities would be affected by the transition to renewable energy sources, with former coal miner and Labour MP Ian Lavery saying workers in the oil and gas industry need "cast iron guarantees" of secure jobs in renewables.

Shanks says the stories of workers are brought "right to the heart" of the decisions the government makes, adding it is doing everything it can to support those workers.

Yasmin Malik
BBC Newsbeat

Image source, Lois Clark

Conservation worker Lois Clark says she’s "really angry" about the government’s decision to allow drilling at Jackdaw gas field.

The 21-year-old, who works restoring peatlands in Lancashire, says she feels "let down by our government" – especially after wildfires affected peatlands across the country over the summer.

Speaking to BBC Newsbeat while planting moss, Lois says she's "seen the damage and the impact wildfires had on these landscapes".

"I’m doing all this hard work to restore these places and lock away that carbon and for the government to come in and push all my hard work away, it does feel disappointing," she adds.

“I do completely understand we need energy security and we can’t just switch off fossil fuels overnight but our generation - we’re going to be living with these consequences."

• In an earlier post, we had reaction from the unions welcoming the decision, citing jobs and energy security

Is using Jackdaw gas cleaner than importing from Norway?published at 14:46 BST

14:46 BST

Justin Rowlatt
Climate editor

Neil McCulloch, the chief executive of Adura which operates Jackdaw, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that production from the field would emit around 8kg of CO2e for every barrel of oil equivalent produced, on a par with gas piped from Norway, the UK’s biggest supplier.

That figure only accounts for extracting the gas. Once processing and transport are added, the government’s decision document puts Jackdaw at 18.5kg - making Norwegian gas cleaner.

The other main source of gas to the UK is imported liquefied natural gas, which made up 15% of our supply in 2024. Most of that comes from the US, and is far dirtier - nearly five times more greenhouse gases are created during its production compared with Jackdaw.

Most emissions, however, come from eventually burning gas, which releases the same carbon wherever it is produced: more than 90% of Jackdaw’s estimated lifetime total.

Image source, PA Media

Ken Banks
BBC Scotland North East and Northern Isles reporter

Aberdeen is known as the Granite City and is in the grip of a grey and rainy day.

However, the energy industry in the north east of Scotland has welcomed today's decision to approve the Jackdaw gas field as a much-needed ray of light.

Jackdaw is in the North Sea off the coast of Aberdeen, which became Europe's oil capital with the discovery of black gold in 1969.

Oil and gas was the main show in town, and a career in that industry was somewhat inevitable for thousands of people.

But today's North Sea is what geologists refer to as a mature and declining basin, and there is an ongoing transition to renewables.

Asco is a major player in energy support services, and has bases in Aberdeen and Peterhead. Its chief executive Mike Pettigrew welcomes today's decision on Jackdaw.

"It offers a foundation for further investment, skilled jobs and confidence in the future of North Sea energy," he says.

"The value of projects like Jackdaw extends beyond the platform. It reaches the quayside, warehouse, vessel operator and apprentice.

"For businesses making decisions about recruitment, equipment and training, a credible pipeline of work is not a luxury. It is the difference between investing here and looking elsewhere."

Image source, PA Media

Andrew Kerr
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Scotland's first minister has asked for the UK government's new Energy Wealth Fund to be ring-fenced for the north-east of Scotland - and called for a new debate on establishing a sovereign wealth fund.

John Swinney outlined his demands in a letter to the prime minister on the day the UK government gave the go-ahead for the Jackdaw gas field.

The new Energy Wealth Fund will mean tax revenues from oil and gas will be invested in renewable and low carbon energy projects.

Swinney also questioned why the new fund is seeded with only around half of last year's North Sea revenue. The UK government is being approached for comment.

Image source, EPA/ Shutterstock

As we reported earlier, this decision comes on the same day that the UN Environment Programme (Unep) warned that the world will now breach the 1.5C (34.7F) global warming limit, at least temporarily, after "decades of insufficient climate action" - more on that here.

Inger Andersen, UN under-secretary-general and Unep executive director, tells Radio 4's World at One that she can "understand" why some countries are "leaning back" on hydrocarbon supplies because of energy security, but stresses that we have to ask: "What's the longer-term plan?"

Bringing global temperatures back down to the 1.5C limit, after the limit is overshot, means cutting carbon emissions by 5.7% every year between now and 2030, she says.

Asked about the UK government's decision to approve drilling at Jackdaw, she says that that this is "obviously not in accord with the phasing down and transiting away" but there are nerves over energy supply.

That is why it was a "difficult" decision for the UK, she says.

"The question to us is when countries do what the UK has done today is: What's the plan on renewable? What's the 10-year plan? What are the investments? What are the policy changes that you are going to put in place?"

• Read our earlier post on the net zero targets of the UK

Justin Rowlatt and Esme Stallard
BBC News Climate team

In its own decision document, the government acknowledges that approving Jackdaw could damage the country's standing on climate.

Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh gave "moderate adverse weight" to the potential impact on the UK’s role as a climate leader, the same weight she gave the field’s emissions.

She concluded that on balance the benefits, including energy security, outweighed it.

Greenpeace UK’s co-executive director Areeba Hamid told the Today programme it was "the wrong decision when it comes to climate, especially on the heels of the hottest, driest summer we’ve had ever on record in this country".

The timing is certainly awkward, with the prime minister expected to be heading to the UN climate summit, COP31, in Turkey next month.

Bob Ward of the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics said many countries would be looking for a signal of whether the UK would be strong on climate policy under Andy Burnham, "this will look weak", he warned.

If you’re just joining us now, here’s a recap of the government's announcement that it has approved drilling at the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea - and the reaction that's come flooding in since:

• The government says Jackdaw could potentially begin supplying gas to homes in just over a week's time, helping protect jobs, "heat millions of homes" and boost the UK's energy security

• But Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh conceded that gas from Jackdaw "won't lower energy bills" this winter and our business editor says the new field will contribute less than 3% of the UK's gas needs
• Environmental campaigners strongly condemned the decision, arguing it will guarantee more major climate events, such as the heatwaves the UK experienced over the summer
• Chancellor John Healey says a new "Energy Wealth Fund", using tax revenue from Jackdaw, will invest in "green transition", but admits it's too early to say how much revenue the fund will generate
• "It is vital that the economic benefits of our energy are felt here in Scotland," First Minister John Swinney says, but appreciates that the decision will provide some certainty to those in the north east of Scotland
• Some unions have welcomed the decision, citing jobs and energy security, as have business leaders
• Stakeholders are now eyeing Rosebank, another contentious field in Scotland, that the government is due to make a decision on - our Scotland editor writes this is "the really big test for the UK government"

Image source, Reuters

US President Donald Trump has said the government's decision to approve drilling at the Jackdaw gas field is "great news for the wealth and prosperity of the United Kingdom and the wonderful region of Aberdeen".

In a post on Truth Social, Trump says the UK "should go FULL BLAST" with drilling in the North Sea, adding that it will make the UK "very wealthy again".

"TAKE DOWN THE COSTLY AND RIDICULOUS WINDMILLS!", he adds.

Trump has frequently criticised the UK's use of wind turbines, which he calls windmills, and previously objected to 11 turbines which were constructed near to his Aberdeenshire golf course.

He has previously urged the UK to increase drilling in the North Sea, hailing Aberdeen as the "oil capital of Europe".

Image source, UK Parliament

Andrew Bowie, the Conservative MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, has accused the government of dither and delay.

Bowie, who is also the shadow energy secretary, says they need to show they are "serious about jobs and British business" and clear the way for more offshore drilling.

"Approve Rosebank, lift the ban on exploration of new licences... get Britain drilling," he urged energy minister Michael Shanks in the Commons a short while ago.

In response, Shanks accused the Conservatives of causing the delays in the first place to the exploitation of Rosebank in 2022 and were now showing a "lack of contrition".

He then reiterated earlier comments that the long-term energy future for the country lay not in fossil fuels but in renewable energy.

Climate campaigners protesting outside the Department of Energy say that although they're "appalled" at the Jackdaw decision, a bigger "disaster" could be on the way.

The government is yet to make a decision on Rosebank, which is the UK's largest-known untapped oil field, and also sits in the North Sea.

"Jackdaw is bad but Rosebank is a disaster," Rosie Latchford from the Stop Rosebank Campaign tells the BBC.

She says the oil field is the "key climate test for this government" as, compared to Jackdaw, it is "a far bigger project in terms of climate impact".

Likewise, Victoria Smith from Fossil Free London says: "It's not too late for them to actually show some good leadership and not approve Rosebank... [Jackdaw] is bad but Rosebank would be catastrophic."

As a reminder, when Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh was asked about Rosebank this morning, she said a decision will be made "in due course" and the government will not make any decision that is "incompatible" with its climate commitments.

Image source, UK Parliament

Energy minister Michael Shanks is now giving a statement to the Commons about today's Jackdaw decision - you can watch live above.

Just before he begins his remarks, he gets an angry telling-off from Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, saying today's announcement should have been made in the Commons first rather than in the media.

Shanks has already been speaking in Parliament today - he told the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee this morning that Jackdaw's impact on energy security will be "relatively marginal" in the long-term "in terms of the overall picture".

He argued it's nonetheless an important part of strengthening the UK's resilience in an "uncertain world" and "does provide benefits".

"It’s important for me to say we have a diverse range of supplies of gas at the moment from the continental shelf from our own side, from Norway and from other imports. But undoubtedly a project like this helps strengthen that energy security," he said.

We'll bring you any key lines from that statement and the subsequent questions from MPs.

Burnham and Badenoch's Jackdaw disagreement is about pace not directionpublished at 12:29 BST

12:29 BST

Chris Mason
Political editor

“Faff about” and “mess up” were the two punchy quotes that summed up the exchanges between the prime minister and the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch about the approval of drilling at the Jackdaw gas field.

For Badenoch, the argument is one grounded in accusing the government of taking too long to come to this decision, with other decisions, not least the Rosebank oil field, still to be taken. In other words, as she put it, faffing about.

For Burnham, he responded that it was the Conservatives who had messed up, as he argued — by approving the licences in question but then finding out they didn’t stand up to legal scrutiny, which led to a delay.

The intriguing element of this debate today between Badenoch and Burnham is they are on the same side — the difference is about pace rather than direction.

Image source, UK Parliament

At Prime Minister's Questions, Badenoch uses her first question to thank the PM for "finally" approving Jackdaw.

But she accuses the government of dithering over the decision, saying the Conservative government first approved it in 2022.

She asks Burnham whether he'll overturn Labour's ban on new oil and gas licences.

Burnham responds by saying the government has made a decision "that her government messed up", saying this is why there was a delay to Jackdaw being approved.

He accuses the Tories of not carrying out the process "properly", saying his party had made a "pragmatic decision".

For context: The site was approved by the Conservative government in 2022, but faced legal challenges from Greenpeace and other environmental campaigners. Last year, a judge ruled the development had been unlawfully approved, putting its future in doubt.

We'll bring you more updates relevant to Jackdaw from the Commons here - you can find our full PMQs coverage here.

Not an explicit thumbs up or thumbs down from the SNPpublished at 12:09 BST

12:09 BST

Glenn Campbell
BBC Scotland political editor

In its official statement on Jackdaw, the Scottish government does not explicitly give the UK government decision the thumbs up or down.

It welcomes the stability and certainty the announcement could provide and criticises the previous Conservative government for decisions that were successfully challenged in court.

When Nicola Sturgeon was Scotland's first minister, she articulated a policy of a presumption against new oil and gas extraction in the North Sea.

That made it into a draft energy strategy which has yet to be finalised.

The Scottish government under John Swinney has appeared to be shifting position.

After the Jackdaw approval was announced this morning, the first minister said he hoped it would "provide some certainty" for the north east of Scotland, after "many years of difficulty thanks to UK government policy".

Swinney also said it is "vital that the economic benefits of our energy are felt here in Scotland and used to bring energy bills down, rather than flowing to the Treasury to plug more short-term spending gaps".

That’s perhaps as close to endorsing Jackdaw as the SNP go, in the knowledge that this is a divisive issue within the party.

Image source, Pool image

Chancellor John Healey has been speaking to broadcasters from Aberdeen, where the owner of Jackdaw is headquartered.

He addresses the new Energy Wealth Fund announced today, which will invest the tax revenue from Jackdaw into the "green transition".

"The proceeds of this oil and gas coming ashore now can be invested for the future generations," Healey says.

But it's "too early to tell" how much revenue the fund will generate.

"If we had done this when North Sea oil was first discovered in the 1980s, we'd have a British Sovereign Wealth Fund now that would be worth probably a trillion pounds."

He adds that now is the time to "make the most of our own homegrown energy," in light of the war in Iran.