A decision on the Jackdaw and Rosebank developments is expected to be delayed until the autumn amid reported concerns within government about the 'optics' of approving the projects during a summer of heatwaves.
The Times reports that ministers want time to consider responses to the consultations, with a decision expected next month.
Burnham last week signalled a more pragmatic approach to the North Sea, saying: 'We won’t be able to stop using oil and gas for some time, that’s just a fact.
'The question is whether we can accelerate use of it so that we pay for the transition, and one thing helps the other … whether that extraction can be the bridge to the clean energy future we need, and bring it forward. It’s about a pragmatic approach to both of those.'
The two projects could generate £10.8billion of investment, support 3,500 jobs at peak construction and employ 880 people over their production lives.
Adura chief executive Neil McCulloch described the closure of the Rosebank consultation as 'a major step before a decision on a project that can deliver real economic benefits for the country'.
He said: 'Together, they can provide more domestically produced energy, support high-quality jobs and apprenticeships, generate substantial economic activity and tax revenues, and give the UK’s world-class energy supply chain confidence for the future.
'We look forward to continuing to work constructively with the regulator as it completes its consideration of these two important projects.'
Speaking from the Oval Office yesterday, Donald Trump again backed new North Sea drilling after a phone call with Prime Minister Andy Burnham, saying opening up new projects would help solve Britain’s 'energy problem' and make the UK 'pretty rich'.
The US President said the North Sea was 'one of the great finds anywhere in the world' and claimed Mr Burnham had told him he would 'open up the North Sea'.
Source: Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce
