The North Sea Jackdaw gas platform could meet 6% of Britain’s gas needs from 1 October – but only if the UK government urgently approves production, the project’s owner has warned, describing the decision as “hyper critical” to avoid domestic supply shortages this winter.
Speaking to BBC News at the field 150 miles east of Aberdeen, Adura chief executive Neil McCulloch said the UK, with only about eight days of gas storage, would have limited options in the event of “a gas supply emergency”. He warned that a prolonged period of still, cloudy weather – hampering wind and solar generation – or hostility from “foreign threat actors” could trigger such a crisis.
“Adura warns UK government approval of Jackdaw gas field is 'hyper critical' to avoid winter shortages, with production possible from 1 October.”
The industry regulator is currently considering revised applications for production at Jackdaw and Adura’s Rosebank oil field west of Shetland, after a court ruled that both had been unlawfully approved. The project, owned by Adura – a joint venture between Shell and Norwegian state firm Equinor – has so far cost around £1.5bn.
“If I were the secretary of state for energy security and net zero, I’d be looking closely at where’s my next source of energy security, and you’re standing on it,” McCulloch said. “The wells are drilled, they’re hooked up. We’re just readying the systems. It will be ready for the 1st of October. Jackdaw will play a vital part of this winter’s gas supply,” he added, citing energy security, employment and taxation benefits.
But environmental campaigners argue that this summer’s deadly and record-breaking heatwaves demonstrate the need to reject both projects. Tessa Khan, executive director of the campaign group Uplift, said: “It would be a huge betrayal of the British public for the UK government to approve new oil and gas fields at a time when ordinary people are suffering so much as a result of these record-breaking heatwaves.”
Environmentalists point out that Jackdaw will produce only 2% of the country’s annual gas demand during the field’s lifetime. McCulloch acknowledged the heatwaves, saying: “So we all watch the same news, and we see that. But what we’re saying is that Jackdaw should not ta…” – the quote was cut short in the source.
BBC News has been given exclusive access to Jackdaw, which is undergoing final checks and tests to be ready for production if government approval is granted. The business-as-usual atmosphere, McCulloch said, is “somewhat surreal” given the uncertainty hanging over the project. The clock is ticking: the 1 October target date is less than three months away.