Overview

• New DESNZ guidance lets the energy secretary weigh “wider benefits to the interests of the nation” alongside environmental assessments when deciding on licensed projects.
• Industry figures say DESNZ’s sign‑off during OPRED reviews could override regulator recommendations, while the NSTA maintains there is no change to existing arrangements.
• Ministers are exploring tie‑backs and bespoke permits to extend production from existing infrastructure without granting licences for entirely new fields.
• Equinor’s Rosebank and Shell’s Jackdaw must reapply for environmental permission after a court required consideration of scope‑3 emissions, placing potential decisions before Ed Miliband.
• Pressure is escalating as unions and industry warn about jobs and revenues and President Trump urges more drilling, while campaigners argue expanded extraction would not lower household bills.