Harry Farley
Political correspondent

This is a big deal. It's become symbolic of a commitment to green energy.

The assumption is that the energy secretary will announce that Jackdaw has passed a new environmental assessment.

If that happens, gas will be extracted from that field in the North Sea within a month.

Chancellor John Healey will be in Aberdeen today and a week out from the Budget, that tells us something about the argument we'll hear from the government: that this is about jobs, particularly in Scotland, but also about making sure that tax on companies extracting gas can be spent here in the UK.

But this is enormously controversial, environmentally and also politically because of the Labour manifesto commitment to not grant new licences to oil and gas production.

We can expect campaign groups and perhaps some Labour MPs to say Jackdaw has that licence already, but the government should honour the spirit of the manifesto commitment.

From speaking to ministers last night, the sense I got is that the government isn't too worried about the decision on Jackdaw.

They won't face opposition from the right, the Liberal Democrats have recently said they'd be happy for approval. The main opposition will come from the Green Party.

In its 2024 manifesto - which led to a landslide election win - Labour said it would not issue new licences for oil and gas fields in the North Sea.

It said doing so would harm the environment while failing to bring down the cost of energy bills.

Crucially though, the party also said it would not revoke existing licences. Jackdaw was approved by the Conservatives in 2022, although in 2025 a court ruled permission was granted unlawfully.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has spoken recently of the need for a "flexible" approach to energy - and is believed to be in favour of drilling more where licensing already exists in the North Sea.

Image source, Labour

Jackdaw is a gas field situated 150 miles east of Aberdeen and is operated by Adura, a joint venture between Shell and Norwegian state energy firm Equinor.

It sits close to the boundary between the British and Norwegian parts of the North Sea. It was discovered in 2005 but was seen as expensive and technically difficult to exploit.

Shell did not commit to its development until 2022, shortly after the Conservative government had granted permission for production.

Adura says Jackdaw would provide about 6% of UK gas production, enough to power 1.4 million homes. Once imports are taken into account, that equates to about 2% of national demand.

But it has faced opposition from environmental campaigners, with estimates suggesting Jackdaw could produce up to 35.8 million tonnes of carbon emissions over 11 years.

Adura said in September that if approval came that month, the field could start delivering gas to UK homes by this winter, as construction is "99% complete".

The UK government is about to announce its final decision on whether gas can be extracted from the Jackdaw field off the east coast of Scotland.

Multiple Whitehall sources tell BBC News the government will make an announcement on the project today - possibly at 07:00 BST - with Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh expected to address MPs this afternoon.

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.

Environmental campaigners argue the site would raise carbon emissions - while developers say it is important for the UK’s energy security.

After detailed climate assessments were produced and sent for public consultation, the government will now announce whether the project can proceed - and under what conditions.

We’ll bring you the latest developments and announcements as they happen here.