Eye on Energy Security, UK OKs a Contentious Gas Field

Britain is giving a green light to a contentious North Sea gas project that had long languished by the wayside. As Reuters reports, the Labour government on Wednesday signed off on the Jackdaw field, with Energy Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh saying it will start feeding gas into UK homes and businesses by the end of the month. Officials say Jackdaw could lift domestic gas output by about 6% at peak and run for up to 11 years, calling it a strategic asset as energy prices climb amid the Iran war.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham, whose Labour Party is striving to present itself as environmentally friendly, framed the move as a pragmatic response to both pressure over high bills and repeated calls from President Trump to boost North Sea drilling. "At a time of global instability, homegrown energy can be a source of national strength," his government said Wednesday, per the Wall Street Journal. To blunt criticism from Greens, who branded the decision "climate vandalism," the government also unveiled a $2.7 billion Energy Wealth Fund to steer fossil-fuel revenues into cleaner power.