What is happening with the Jackdaw and Rosebank gas and oil fields?

The UK government moved closer to a final decision on the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields after the Competition and Markets Authority published its long-awaited verdict on whether the projects deliver value for consumers and align with Britain’s net-zero strategy.

An energy security gamble

BBC UK explains that the Jackdaw field, located in the southern North Sea roughly 200 miles east of Hull, would supply roughly five percent of the nation’s current gas consumption for the first decade of output, while Rosebank — situated 160 miles west of Shetland — holds an estimated 500 million barrels of recoverable oil and gas. Both developments are being pitched by their developers, Ithaca Petroleum and Equinor respectively, as a bridge for the post-Russian-supply era that began in 2022.

Why it matters

For prime minister Andy Burnham’s government, approval would signal a return to domestic hydrocarbon extraction after a four-year pause, potentially lowering wholesale energy bills and securing jobs in Aberdeen’s offshore sector. Environmental groups counter that any new licences lock in emissions that would have to be offset later, making the 2035 and 2040 targets materially harder to reach without heavier reliance on unproven carbon capture technology at scale.

Consultation responses and political maths

An 85,000-signature petition demanding a public inquiry into the developments was delivered to Number 10 last week, while the Scottish government — which controls the onshore planning process — has signalled it will seek its own second independence referendum vote if Westminster pushes ahead without Holyrood’s consent. The Treasury’s own modelling, leaked to journalists on Tuesday, shows a best-case consumer dividend of £1.40 per household per year once infrastructure costs are stripped out — a figure that campaigners describe as “negligible”.

What happens next

A final ministerial decision is expected by 15 December, after the CMA’s recommendations are debated in the Commons liaison committee. If approved, both projects face a six-month window for legal challenges in the European Court of Justice, where environmental NGOs have already filed preliminary injunctions. Industry sources say first gas from Jackdaw could flow by late 2028 at the earliest, with Rosebank trailing by a year. Read the latest CMA findings on the government portal.