Decision on North Sea field imminent

A decision on whether to give the green light to the controversial Jackdaw gas field is "imminent".

Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh, delivering a speech on the future of the energy system at Energy UK's annual conference, also said a decision on Rosebank, the largest untapped oil field in the North Sea, will take "a bit longer".

A report recently warned that failing to approve the controversial Rosebank and Jackdaw fields could cost the UK thousands of jobs a year along with a loss to the economy of almost £11 billion over the next decade.

In her speech Fahnbulleh also said the current Government had inherited an energy system that is too exposed to volatile global markets and which faced major challenges.

“We have projects ready to invest and businesses ready to expand, but can’t secure timely connections. We have renewable power available in a system that still pays generators to turn down their output because the network cannot always use or move that power efficiently,” she added.