Supporters say the project will support domestic energy supplies, safeguard supply-chain jobs and use existing offshore infrastructure.
However, the Jackdaw gasfield is projected to create only 27 direct full-time jobs once operational, according to industry documents and environmental impact assessments. Even accounting for the wider network of indirect jobs and economies, Jackdaw is still a very small and shrinking part of the economy.
This is for the very simple reason that the North Sea is running out of oil and gas to extract. Jobs in the North Sea have been in decline for over 20 years because more than 90% of the resources have been extracted.
Sharon Graham, the leader of Britain’s largest energy-sector union Unite, ran for re-election last summer with the pledge “no ban without a plan”, meaning no ban on new oil contracts without a guaranteed jobs plan for her members. Unite’s “Keep the North Sea Working” campaign states that these are being lost due to a “complex mix of fiscal and industrial policy at UK level, including the ban on new licences”.
But this is simply not true. When Graham calls for North Sea jobs to be protected, she is strategically ignoring the reality that soon there won’t be any jobs to protect because there won’t be any oil or gas to extract.
I doubt that this bothers her much, as it is clear she is being motivated by something other than the interests of her members – she’s never protected health workers the way she’s protecting energy sector workers, despite them making up a bigger proportion of her membership base. Within English politics there is a bias towards protecting energy at all costs, playing into the illusion of security and international significance created by our tiny North Sea reserves.
Andrea Egan, leader of UNISON, has recently called for the same “massive political focus” to be given to public sector workers as are given to jobs in North Sea oil and gas.
Besides, from Graham’s point of view, there’s always the lure of the ever-profitable fossil fuel lobby. After she tires of Unite politicking, Graham can walk into a lucrative job at one of the many consultancies or energy companies whose interests she’s promoted. Profit and bonuses can always be extracted.
Andy Burnham has said that Jackdaw will generate much needed tax revenue, but Uplift has questioned these claims as any returns will largely be offset by the huge tax reliefs offered on energy developments. Nor will the project result in cheaper fuel prices for UK consumers. The very small amount of resources extracted from the Jackdaw site will be sold by private companies on the global market.
In summary, the Jackdaw project does not:
- create jobs
- lower fuel prices for consumers
- generate tax revenue for the state
It is also worth noting that the preferred oil extraction partner, Norwegian oil giant Equinor, has a terrible record. It has been accused of green washing, been hit with record fines for oil leaks and environmental damage and been challenged in Argentina, Brazil and Canada for their lack standards which caused oil spills..
Why approve it?
There are many bad reasons to do so. To appease fossil fuel and corporate lobbyists who donate to political parties. To secure cushy jobs once they leave public life. To feed into far right climate denialism and reassure voters that they don’t need to worry about climate change.
Mainly though, because the logic of capitalism tells you that you should approve the gas field. If there is a modicum of profit to be made then it needs to be made, whatever the cost.
And we might ask, why bother fighting against Jackdaw approval if it’s only going to account for a small amount of resource extraction (seeing as it’s almost all been extracted anyway) that will make up a tiny fraction of global supply?
We need to fight Jackdaw approval because the damage that the construction and operation of Jackdaw will cause is huge, even if it only extracts a minimal amount of gas.
Rosebank
And Jackdaw paves the way for the larger and even more devastating Rosebank project, which must be resisted at all costs. A decision on this is expected mid-December.
We need to fight against Jackdaw approval because every single increment of a degree of warming that we can prevent equates to human lives saved. Because every drop of oil or particle of gas that we keep in the ground is a victory. A victory of the masses for our future generations who deserve to live on a planet with clean air, abundant energy and stable supply chains.
It is not too late to turn the tide.
