The timeline of back and forth about both projects is worth revisiting. Jackdaw was first approved four years ago, Rosebank three years ago.
But after a legal challenge by environmental campaigners, it was ruled that consent had been granted unlawfully and there needed to be a more detailed assessment of the environmental impact.
And then, of course – there is politics, international and domestic, between parties and within parties.
Debate about energy security and spiralling prices, given the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the environmental impact, carbon emissions and the message new drilling sends to the wider world.
But others point to the extra carbon emissions when energy is imported, the tax revenues generated from domestic energy and the social and economic consequences of the British oil and gas sector deindustrialising too quickly and, in particular, the impact on cities such as Aberdeen.
Then, for the government, there are the promises the Labour Party made when it was seeking your support at the general election in 2024.
Page 52 of Labour’s manifesto reads like a rhetorical twister – a paragraph of promises seeking to stretch in multiple directions at the same time, trying to keep a breadth of people happy simultaneously, or perhaps not annoy too many people too much.
“Labour will not revoke existing licences and we will partner with business and workers to manage our existing fields for the entirety of their lifespan. Crucially, oil and gas production in the North Sea will be with us for decades to come, and the North Sea will be managed in a way that does not jeopardise jobs,” it reads.
“And our offshore workers will lead the world in the industries of the future. We will not issue new licences to explore new fields because they will not take a penny off bills, cannot make us energy secure, and will only accelerate the worsening climate crisis,” it adds.
Crucially, the Jackdaw and Rosebank licences had already been issued, leaving political wriggle room on these two outstanding and high profile decisions the Labour government inherited on taking office.
But the multiple trade-offs, of course, remain very real, including for some of the key individuals involved.
