Jackdaw Consultation Closed, Rosebank Closes Aug 17: Burnham Still Hasn't Made the Call

The Jackdaw gas field consultation closed Monday, August 10. The Rosebank oil field consultation closes Monday, August 17. Andy Burnham has given no decision on either, and no timeline for one.

Two formal public comment windows on the North Sea's biggest remaining oil and gas fields have shut or are about to shut. The Prime Minister who has to sign off on them hasn't said a word publicly since taking office.

What's actually on the table

Jackdaw is a gas field 150 miles east of Aberdeen. Rosebank is an oil field northwest of Shetland. Both were approved for production under the Conservative government, and both approvals got thrown out by a court last year after Greenpeace sued, according to Manchester Evening News. The judges ruled the government hadn't properly accounted for the climate impact of burning the oil and gas once extracted. That left the decision sitting on Burnham's desk the moment he took over from Keir Starmer in late July.

Labour's 2024 manifesto ruled out new North Sea exploration licences but promised not to revoke existing ones, according to OilPrice.com. Whether Jackdaw and Rosebank count as "new" or "existing" is exactly the ambiguity Burnham has to resolve, and he hasn't clarified it.

BP is already out the door

While Burnham deliberates, BP is preparing to sell its entire North Sea offshore portfolio, according to briefs.co. BP is the last major oil company still running a standalone North Sea unit. Russell Borthwick, head of the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, called the exit "a defining moment for the new prime minister" and said it's "another stark reminder that confidence in the UK continental shelf has been badly shaken" by years of policy instability and high taxes.

That instability isn't new. The Conservatives imposed a windfall tax on North Sea producers in 2022. Labour extended it after taking power in 2024 and stopped issuing new exploration licences, according to briefs.co. Producers have been saying for years the tax makes new investment unviable. BP's exit is the clearest evidence yet that the industry believes them.

Trump's still in the mix

President Trump has taken a personal interest in whether Burnham drills. During their first call after Burnham became PM, Burnham reportedly told Trump his approach would be "pragmatic," and Trump said afterward that Burnham had "pledged to open up the North Sea," according to briefs.co. Whether that's an accurate characterization of what Burnham actually committed to is unclear. Burnham hasn't publicly confirmed Trump's version of the conversation.

The environmental case against drilling

Lang Banks, director of WWF Scotland, said politicians face "a clear choice: further fuel climate chaos, or support a fair transition to a safer future," pointing to a summer of extreme heat and wildfires near Aberdeen, according to Manchester Evening News. Ami McCarthy, head of politics at Greenpeace UK, called continued North Sea extraction "beyond ridiculous" while "the world is reeling from climate impacts."

Environmental groups say the remaining oil and gas in UK waters is a small enough quantity that it wouldn't meaningfully affect prices, which are set on international markets, or improve Britain's energy security, according to Manchester Evening News. If that's right, the case for drilling rests less on economics and more on jobs and industry confidence in Scotland's offshore sector.

The case for drilling

That's the counterpoint industry and unions are making: North Sea jobs, supply chain contracts, and investment have already been draining out of Scotland for years under the tax and licensing freeze, and BP's total exit is proof the bleeding hasn't stopped. Trade unions are one of the constituencies Labour can't afford to lose, and Burnham is caught between them and environmentalists, both core to his coalition, according to briefs.co.

Rachael Maskell, Labour MP for York Central, has pushed the other direction, urging ministers to "keep carbon in the ground" and pointing to "ice caps melting, seas warming up, hotter and hotter summers," according to OilPrice.com.

Where it stands

Burnham appointed Miatta Fahnbulleh, a former climate campaigner, as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, a signal that could cut either way depending on how much authority she's given over the final call. He's also facing a rising Green Party under Zack Polanski that opposes any new licences outright, adding electoral pressure from his left flank on top of the industry pressure from his right.

No formal decision has been announced on Jackdaw or Rosebank as of August 15. With both consultations now closed or closing, the government has no more procedural reason to delay. The next milestone is whatever Burnham's office says once Rosebank's window shuts Monday, and how long after that he takes to actually rule.