One hundred and fifty miles east of Aberdeen, the Jackdaw gas platform sits ready – its wells drilled, its systems undergoing final checks. Yet the only thing missing is government approval. And according to the field’s owner, that delay could leave the UK dangerously exposed this winter.
Neil McCulloch, chief executive of Adura – the joint venture between Shell and Equinor that has spent £1.5bn on the project – told BBC News that Jackdaw could supply 6% of the UK’s gas from 1 October. But the industry regulator is still considering revised applications after a court ruled that both Jackdaw and Adura’s Rosebank oil field had been unlawfully approved.
“Adura warns UK must approve Jackdaw gas field or risk winter supply shortages.”
“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.”
McCulloch warned that with only about eight days of gas storage, the UK would have limited options in the event of “a gas supply emergency”. He cited two scenarios: a prolonged period of still, cloudy weather that curbs wind and solar generation, or hostility from “foreign threat actors”.
Environmental campaigners are adamant that the projects should be rejected. This summer’s record-breaking and deadly heatwaves, they argue, make it imperative to tackle climate change by ending new fossil fuel extraction. Tessa Khan, executive director of the campaign group Uplift, said approving new oil and gas fields “would be a huge betrayal of the British public at a time when ordinary people are suffering so much as a result of these record-breaking heatwaves”.
McCulloch countered that Jackdaw would provide energy security, employment and taxation. He added: “If I were the secretary of state … you’re standing on it.” Environmentalists point out that over the field’s lifetime, Jackdaw will only reduce import dependency by 2%.
On board the platform, the mood is described as “business-as-usual” – a surreal calm, given the uncertainty. But the clock is ticking. Winter is months away, and for McCulloch, the choice is clear. “It is hyper critical that the UK government approves production,” he said. Without it, the UK may be left short.