Offshore Energies UK has called for timely consent decisions on the Rosebank and Jackdaw developments, arguing that the two North Sea projects could sustain billions of pounds in engineering, construction, and supply chain activity.
The industry body submitted its position while separate public consultations continued for the £8.7 billion Rosebank oil development and the £2.1 billion Jackdaw gas project. The Jackdaw consultation is due to close on 10 August, followed by Rosebank on 17 August.
Rosebank lies approximately 80 miles west of Shetland, while Jackdaw is around 150 miles east of Aberdeen. Both projects have passed through extensive engineering and procurement work, although further consent remains subject to environmental assessment, regulatory review, and government decisions.
Offshore Energies UK estimates that the developments could contribute £28.7 billion in gross value added over their operating lives. Around £9.1 billion of activity could pass through UK companies involved in engineering, fabrication, subsea equipment, marine services, logistics, inspection, commissioning, maintenance, and specialist technical work.
More than 3,500 jobs could be supported during peak construction, with approximately 880 positions remaining during production. Associated programmes include apprenticeships and contracts across north east Scotland, Fife, the Highlands, north east England, and Lerwick.
Almost 200 UK contracts have been connected with the two developments. Those awards extend beyond major offshore contractors to machining businesses, electrical specialists, control system integrators, testing companies, coating suppliers, lifting providers, ports, vessel operators, and professional engineering services.
Substantial preparation has already been completed across platforms, subsea production systems, pipelines, floating production infrastructure, wells, onshore interfaces, and supporting equipment. Suppliers have reserved manufacturing slots, retained project teams, ordered materials, and planned vessel or fabrication capacity around expected schedules.
That industrial work was set out when Adura detailed the contracts and expenditure attached to both developments. A prolonged pause would affect companies carrying labour, equipment, and financial commitments before production begins.
Environmental assessment remains central to the consent process, with the projects required to meet the legal framework governing offshore development and emissions. Economic value cannot replace those tests, but uncertainty over the timetable creates its own cost across long, interdependent engineering programmes.
An approval delay can move drilling schedules, fabrication campaigns, vessel mobilisation, commissioning windows, and supplier cash flow. Offshore projects rely on tightly sequenced work, and lost installation periods can push activity into a later season or conflict with other contracted programmes.
The North Sea engineering base is also serving oil and gas production, decommissioning, offshore wind, subsea electricity, carbon storage, and hydrogen projects. Those markets draw on overlapping groups of engineers, technicians, ports, inspection providers, fabrication yards, and specialist vessels, making continuity of work important to retaining capacity.
Rosebank and Jackdaw are expected at peak to provide quantities equivalent to around 10% of current UK oil and gas production respectively. Offshore Energies UK also says their operational emissions would be around half the average intensity of existing North Sea production because newer equipment and production designs can operate more efficiently.
Domestic production does not determine total UK consumption, although it changes the balance between local supply and imports. Oil and gas will remain part of industrial heat, chemicals, aviation, heavy transport, and existing building systems while electrification and renewable generation expand at different rates.
The developments also sit within a mature basin where existing infrastructure is ageing and production is declining. New projects can extend the useful life of pipelines, terminals, ports, and technical organisations, but they must also carry the cost of maintaining safe operations across assets built during several generations of offshore development.
Supply chain companies need enough visibility to recruit apprentices, retain experienced engineers, invest in equipment, and qualify for future work. Stop start project cycles weaken that capability because people and vessels can move to overseas markets, while smaller companies may be unable to finance long periods between contracts.
Neither approval nor rejection would settle the wider debate over the North Sea’s future. Approval would add production and contract activity within an industry moving gradually towards lower carbon operations, while rejection would leave demand to be met through other sources and remove planned work from the domestic engineering base.
The consultations will now test the environmental evidence and the conditions attached to each project. Suppliers, operators, and regional economies require a decision process that is rigorous and clear, because engineering capacity cannot be held indefinitely without cost.
