The chief executive of the company behind the North Sea's Jackdaw gas platform has warned that the UK risks domestic supply shortages this winter if the project is not approved, as ministers weigh a decision on the contested field.
Speaking to the BBC from the platform 150 miles east of Aberdeen, Neil McCulloch of Adura – a joint venture between Shell and Norwegian state firm Equinor – called it “hyper critical” that the government grants permission, saying the field could meet 6% of the UK’s gas from 1 October. The industry regulator is currently reviewing revised applications for Jackdaw and Adura’s Rosebank oil field after a court ruled both had been unlawfully approved.
“Jackdaw gas field owner warns UK faces winter supply shortage if government does not approve production.”
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 pointed to risks such as a prolonged period of still, cloudy weather – which would hamper wind and solar generation – or hostility from “foreign threat actors”.
The warning comes as environmental campaigners, citing this summer’s deadly heatwaves, urge the government 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.”
The BBC was given exclusive access to Jackdaw, which is undergoing final checks and tests ahead of potential production. McCulloch said the wells were already drilled and hooked up, adding: “We’re just readying the systems. It will be ready for the 1st of October.” The project has cost about £1.5bn so far, according to Adura.
“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. He stressed that Jackdaw would play “a vital part of this winter’s gas supply”, providing energy security, employment and tax revenue.
Environmentalists counter that while Jackdaw will produce 6% of the country’s annual gas supply over its lifetime, it will reduce import dependency by only 2%. The decision now rests with the regulator, with the clock ticking towards winter.