Jackdaw Gas Platform Faces Critical Approval Decision
Neil McCulloch, chief executive of Adura, has emphasized the urgent need for UK government approval of the Jackdaw gas platform in the North Sea to prevent potential domestic gas supply shortages this winter.
Speaking to at the Jackdaw field, located 150 miles east of Aberdeen, McCulloch stated that the project is in its final stages and could supply approximately 6% of the UK's gas requirements starting from 1 October.
The industry regulator is currently reviewing revised production applications for both the Jackdaw field and Adura's Rosebank oil field, situated west of Shetland, following a court ruling that found the initial approvals unlawful.
Environmental groups argue that recent record-breaking heatwaves underscore the necessity to combat climate change by rejecting these projects.
Campaigners in London last week urge Andy Burnham not to open the North Sea to new projects
McCulloch warned that with only about eight days of gas storage available, the UK has limited options in the event of a "gas supply emergency." Such an emergency could arise from extended periods of still, cloudy weather limiting wind and solar power generation, or from hostile actions by foreign entities.
was granted exclusive access to the Jackdaw platform, which is undergoing final checks and tests to be ready for production pending government approval.
The atmosphere on site is described as "business-as-usual," despite the uncertainty surrounding the project, which has incurred costs of around £1.5 billion. Adura is a joint venture between Shell and the Norwegian state energy company Equinor.
The Jackdaw field is owned by Adura - a joint venture by energy giants Shell and Equinor
McCulloch remarked,
"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.
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, highlighting its role in providing energy security, employment, and tax revenue to the UK.
Environmentalists contend that Jackdaw will only supply about 2% of the UK's annual gas demand over the field's lifetime.
"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,"said Tessa Khan, executive director of the campaign group Uplift.
In response, McCulloch stated,
"So we all watch the same news, and we see that.
But what we're saying is that Jackdaw should not take that on its shoulders, or it should take a very small portion of that.
It's a very, very small proportion of the total global emissions."
As Andy Burnham prepares for Downing Street, he faces pressure within the Labour party to permit more oil exploration and to reduce and stabilize taxation on investment and production.
Former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair, trade union leaders, and Westminster's energy committee have echoed US President Donald Trump's call for the UK to "open up the North Sea." This presents a challenge as the most accessible and profitable fields have largely been depleted.
Production in the North Sea peaked in 1999 at 4.5 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day. In 2024, production stands at just over one million BOE.
The Energy Transition Institute, affiliated with Robert Gordon University, forecasts approximately 1,600 offshore job losses annually over the next decade due to current policies.
"Oil and gas is declining faster than many of us were expecting, but the renewables industry is simply not ready to take all the jobs,"said Prof Paul de Leeuw, the institute's director.
Jackdaw owner says gas field will 'not materially influence' climate change
The city caught in the middle of the big energy shift debate
Rosebank is estimated to contain between 300 million and 500 million barrels of oil, making it the largest untapped field in UK waters.
Adura states that gas from Jackdaw could supply 1.4 million homes.
Decisions on oil and gas licensing fall under the UK government at Westminster, but the Scottish government, led by the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP), also takes an interest and is divided on the issue.
Oil was once a central argument for Scottish independence, but former SNP first ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf opposed both Rosebank and Jackdaw.
Current First Minister John Swinney has taken a more ambiguous stance, stating that new developments should only proceed if compatible with the UK's greenhouse gas reduction commitments.
Climate campaigners launched a legal challenge against Jackdaw and Rosebank
In 2023, the Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled that the approvals for both fields were unlawful because the consenting process did not adequately consider the climate impact of burning the extracted oil and gas.
Judge Lord Ericht mandated that operators submit revised environmental impact assessments to the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), the industry regulator.
On Tuesday, Adura announced that its updated assessment indicated Jackdaw would contribute less than 0.02% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions over its lifetime.
Greenpeace dismissed this claim as "self-serving." Doug Parr, Greenpeace UK's chief scientist, called approving the field "reckless and indefensible" given international commitments to mitigate global warming.
If the NSTA grants approval, the final decision will rest with the current Energy Secretary and prospective Chancellor, Ed Miliband.
Miliband has been a prominent advocate for renewable energy and has expressed skepticism toward new oil and gas developments.
While acknowledging that oil and gas will remain part of the UK's energy mix for decades, Miliband has stated that no new fields should be explored.
"Drilling every last drop will not take a penny off bills,"he said in a speech on 21 April, adding that it "cannot give us energy security" either.
Sir Keir Starmer and Ed Miliband have been criticised for fumbling the transition to renewables
Critics accuse Miliband and outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer of mishandling the transition to renewable energy and contributing to economic hardship in northeast Scotland, home to about one-third of the UK's 115,000 offshore oil and gas workers.
The Conservative Party attributes their recent victory in Westminster's Aberdeen South by-election to this issue, having taken the seat from the SNP and relegated Labour to fourth place.
Following the election, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch described the vote as a "referendum on oil and gas."
Badenoch expressed support for the transition to greener energy but cautioned,
"Renewables aren't ready.
Simply switching off oil and gas is madness, especially when we're then importing oil and gas from Russia, of all places."
Environmental campaigners are opposed to the Jackdaw development
In the context of global economic instability and supply disruptions caused by conflicts in Ukraine and Iran, Labour has adjusted its position, proposing reforms to the energy profits levy (windfall tax), currently a 78% tax on production, and permitting some new drilling if linked to existing facilities.
There is less emphasis now on Labour's 2024 election proposal to establish a publicly owned green energy company, GB Energy, based in Aberdeen.
In April, Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, appeared to support Miliband's cautious stance, stating that approving Jackdaw and Rosebank "would not make any significant difference" to the global energy crisis triggered by the US and Israel's conflict with Iran.
"It is up to the government, but these fields would not change much for the UK's energy security, nor would they change the price of oil and gas,"Birol told .
Back at Jackdaw, preparations continue despite the ongoing debate.
Four large columns stand ready to receive high-pressure gas from 5 kilometers below the platform, nearly all of which is beneath the seabed.
This is a complex engineering operation involving extremely high-pressure gas and temperatures.
Nearby, a large pipeline has been connected to the existing Shearwater field, where the gas will be processed before being transported ashore to the St Fergus terminal in Aberdeenshire.
The weather was calm during the visit, but the Jackdaw field remains at the center of a contentious discussion on the nation's energy future.
- New climate assessment for Jackdaw gas field
- New oil and gas field consent was unlawful - judge
- What is Rosebank and why is it so controversial?
