Britain’s gas supply at risk this winter as Labour warned over North Sea drilling delay

LABOUR has been urged to speed up its decision on North Sea drilling to avoid affecting gas supplies this winter. Ministers have been warned by the sector the Jackdaw gas field is an “important component” for the UK but urgently needs to be given the green light. Labour has been urged to green-light North Sea drilling to avoid putting Britain’s gas supplies at risk this winter Credit: Stuart W Conway The Jackdaw decision is now likely to come after the October 8 by-election, with Labour battling the Green Party for Sir Keir Starmer’s old seat Credit: Getty More than 100 projects could be kick-started if ministers change the tax regime and licensing rules, which could unlock £50billion in investment. But the Jackdaw decision is now likely to come after the October 8 by-election with Labour battling the Green Party for Sir Keir Starmer’s old seat. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Thank you! Offshore Energies UK boss David Whitehouse said: “The truth is that Jackdaw is an important component of our gas delivery for the winter period 2026-27. “It can produce up to 6% of the gas we will need and we are now at a point in the coming weeks where without regulatory approval we are going to delay the production of that field. Andy Burnham has been accused of ‘running scared’ by delaying the Jackdaw gas field decision until after a crunch by-election Credit: LNP “We’re now at a point where further delays are going to push back bringing that production on line.” He added: “I do think we are now at a point where we are looking for those decisions to come – and more broadly that signal that actually the UK wants to produce more of its own energy; wants to produce more oil and gas.” The organisation also says more than 100 new oil and gas projects could be given the go-ahead if the government changes the tax regime for the sector and makes changes to licensing. The sector is demanding reform of the Energy Profits Levy early next year, along with Ministers adopting new regulations that boost domestic supplies. Most read in The Sun Mr Whitehouse said without the changes the “consequences are clear”. He added: “We will continue to see the loss of jobs in the UK; we will continue to see significant, increasing imports of our energy; the country will become less resilient.” The OEUK also warned that Europe’s gas storage levels “are now at a five-year low”. Experts warn this could lead to sustained high European and UK’s gas prices throughout the winter. Comment now