Newscast

The broadcast led on the government’s approval of production at the Jackdaw gas field, about 150 miles east of Aberdeen. Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said yes to Jackdaw while saying no decision had yet been made on Rosebank. The programme reported that she justified Jackdaw on energy security, said it would not lower bills because the amount is small on the global market, and argued it could quickly provide a domestic source for UK homes and businesses. It also noted her claim that the decision was consistent with net-zero commitments, alongside the argument that domestic gas avoids emissions from liquefying, shipping and regasifying imports, and discussed Labour’s 2024 manifesto language on existing licences and no new exploration licences.

James Cook reported from the Rosebank facility, 80 miles north-west of Shetland, an FPSO vessel rather than a platform. He said Rosebank is mainly oil and its output would be taken by tanker to international markets, while Jackdaw gas would come ashore in Aberdeenshire and largely be consumed in the UK. The programme heard that many in Aberdeen welcomed the Jackdaw decision and wanted Rosebank approved too, amid concern that oil and gas jobs are being lost faster than renewable jobs are created. It reported that the company said Jackdaw would create 35 permanent offshore jobs, with further supply-chain and construction jobs, while environmental campaigners disputed the scale of jobs and economic benefits and were said to be likely to focus their campaign on opposing Rosebank, which is a 25-year project with a much larger carbon footprint than Jackdaw’s expected 11-year life.

The discussion also covered the politics around the timing, including theories that the decision was not made while Ed Miliband was energy secretary and that it may have been delayed until after the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, as well as the Conservatives’ win in Aberdeen South and the SNP’s position on oil and gas and sharing tax revenues. It then noted that at Prime Minister’s Questions Andy Burnham said the government was looking at whether standing charges on gas bills should go, with questions raised about what a fairer system would mean and whether the same approach would apply to all-electric heating.