Labour is likely to reject drilling at the giant Rosebank oilfield after approving the smaller Jackdaw gasfield.
After Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh made her long-awaited decision on drilling in the North Sea, sources now say she is not likely to approve Rosebank.
Ms Fahnbulleh told the Guardian, which first reported on her likely decision, that the same rationale behind approving Jackdaw did not apply to Rosebank, which her mentor Ed Miliband once described as “climate vandalism”.
She said: “One is a gasfield that caters for the domestic market, while the other is an oilfield that is mainly for export.
“It is right that we judge each application in its own right, and it is absolutely critical that the decision is consistent with our climate obligations, our carbon budgets and the end destination we need to get to with the energy transition.”
Her decision may spark further tensions within Labour as John Healey told ITV he expected both “oil and gas” revenues to contribute a new energy health fund.
Andy Burnham would be expected to make the final call if there is a conflict on the decision.
One Labour source told the newspaper the Energy Secretary was being pragmatic by approving Jackdaw but rejecting Rosebank, adding that she was “putting up a fight”.
Rosebank would emit around seven times the carbon of Jackdaw and Ms Fahnbulleh is said to believe it would not shore up energy security because the majority of oil would be exported.
This comes as US President Donald Trump praised the decision to approve Jackdaw, hailing it as “great news for the wealth and prosperity of the United Kingdom, and the wonderful region of Aberdeen”.
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