Big call
The final legal approval on the two projects — which are already far-progressed and could start production as soon as this year — sits with current U.K. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.
Miliband’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has been approached for comment. Burnham’s team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Labour’s most prominent climate champion, Miliband described the Rosebank project as “climate vandalism” when the party was in opposition. A key ally of Burnham, Miliband is now seen as a leading contender to become his chancellor, the second-most powerful role in government.
However, the Unite union, which represents oil and gas workers, has warned Burnham not to promote Miliband, citing their deep-seated opposition to his policies on the North Sea, which they claim have not done enough to support the workforce.
Under Miliband, the Labour government has banned new exploration for oil and gas (Rosebank and Jackdaw are already progressed far beyond this phase) and has increased a windfall tax on drillers. Burnham, when pressed on the issue, has said only that he has “no fixed position.”
While the decisions on Rosebank and Jackdaw are “quasi-judicial” ones for the energy secretary on the advice of regulators, Miliband has faced public pressure from Cabinet colleagues — and from potential rivals for the role of chancellor in the new administration.