𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure to lift a block on drilling in the North Sea amid fears of a growing reliance on costly foreign imports. Neil McCulloch, chief executive of Adura, a joint venture between Shell and Equinor, said capitalising on the Jackdaw gasfield, 275 kilometres east of Aberdeen, could deliver 6.5% of Britain’s gas output. Jackdaw and Rosebank, the UK’s biggest undeveloped oil and gas field around 80 miles off the Shetland Islands, were approved for use under the previous government, but have since been paused amid successful court challenges by environmental activists.

Mr McCulloch called on the Prime Minister to override the legal process and green-light the two sites, suggesting they could start producing gas from October, going on to supply British homes and businesses by the end of the year. He wrote in The Times: “Unlocking this resource would allow Adura to continue to meet the UK’s energy requirements, which Government itself acknowledges is a crucial matter of national interest and security.”

He added: “If the Government can reach a decision by the start of August, we believe the regulatory process can be concluded in line with our plans.

“That could mean gas from Jackdaw going into the grid in time to supply British homes and businesses this winter.”

Mr McCulloch also said the projects would create tens of thousands of UK jobs, inject billions of pounds of investment into the economy and “make us more energy secure as a nation”.

Equinor and Shell were granted approval to develop Jackdaw in 2022 and Rosebank in 2023, but the decision was ruled unlawful by the Scottish Court of Session in January 2025.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch also attacked Labour’s ban on new licences for oil and gas fields in the North Sea while unveiling her party’s Get Britain Drilling Now Bill this week.

She claimed more drilling would secure cheap, reliable energy and cut household bills, as well as making Britain more resilient to global energy supply and price shock.

The bill proposes to remove the requirement for downstream emissions to be considered in planning decisions, reversing the ruling to block the development of the Rosebank site.

She said: “We need to get Britain drilling in the North Sea. It’s good for our energy security, our financial security and our national security.”

Ms Badenoch accused Mr Starmer of “hiding behind legal process” because he doesn’t have the backbone to stand up to energy secretary Ed Miliband, who has rejected calls to end the license ban.

“The Conservatives have had enough,” she added. “This Bill would stop the lawfare and free our oil and gas industry to start drilling, creating new jobs and bringing in revenue to get energy bills down.”

A government spokesperson said: “Our priority is to deliver a fair, orderly and prosperous transition in the North Sea in line with our climate and legal obligations, which drives our clean-energy future of energy security, lower bills and good long-term jobs.”