U.K. Greenlights Jackdaw Oil and Gas Project

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--A major oil and gas project in U.K.'s North Sea has been greenlit for Shell Plc (NYSE:SHEL) (London, England) despite having failed to secure permission at the end of last year on environmental grounds.

Regulatory approval has been granted by the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning to the Jackdaw field development, located approximately 275 kilometers (km) east of Aberdeen in the central North Sea. It comes at a time when the U.K. government has been stressing the importance of energy security in the face of oil and gas shortages due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing sanctions imposed on Russia by the European Union (EU). Environmental groups have committed to fight the U-turn in the courts.

At its peak, Jackdaw is expected to produce 6.5% of the U.K's total gas needs, enough to heat 1.4 million homes. The Jackdaw field was discovered in 2005 and was appraised between 2007 and 2012. Shell estimates that the field has reserves of between 120 million and 250 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe). The Jackdaw development comprises a "not permanently attended" wellhead platform with four wells, connected via a 31-kilometer subsea pipeline to the existing, Shell-operated Shearwater hub, where the gas will be processed and sent onshore to St. Fergus in Scotland. Shell aims to start production from the Jackdaw field in 2025. Industrial Info is tracking six projects associated with Jackdaw with a combined investment value of more than US$750 million. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports.

The decision to greenlight the project was welcomed by the U.K.'s Business Minister, Kwasi Kwarteng: "Jackdaw gas field--originally licensed in 1970--has today received final regulatory approval. We're turbocharging renewables and nuclear, but we are also realistic about our energy needs now. Let's source more of the gas we need from British waters to protect energy security."

Last October, permission for the project was denied on environmental grounds. Shell submitted a new environmental strategy in March with changes to how the natural gas extracted will be processed with regards to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at the interconnected Shearwater hub and also onshore at the St. Fergus terminal. The permit has been widely condemned by environmental groups and it could still face legal challenges, with Greenpeace claiming that the decision may be unlawful.

Ami McCarthy, a political campaigner for Greenpeace U.K., said: "Approving Jackdaw is a desperate and destructive decision from Johnson's government, and proves there's no long-term plan. They could immediately shave billions off bills, get a grip on U.K. energy demand, create thousands of jobs, boost our economy, tackle the climate crisis and avoid future crises--if they just upgrade homes to be warmer and greener, and invest in clean and cheap renewable power. This government's shown no regard for these emissions, or Jackdaw's ultimate climate impact. We think that's unlawful, we're looking at legal action to stop Jackdaw, and fight this every step of the way."

Environmental groups have succeeded in delaying key U.K. oil and gas projects in recent years, most notably the controversial Cambo oilfield development project near the Shetland Islands, off the north coast of Scotland. Industrial Info reported in December that Shell had pulled out of the project. Worth more than half a billion dollars in potential investment, it is jointly owned by Shell (30%) and private equity-backed explorer Siccar Point (70%). For additional information, see December 14, 2021, article--Shell Pulls out of Cambo Oil Project in U.K.. The future of the project remains unclear. Industrial Info is tracking six projects under the Cambo umbrella, all of which are on hold. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the world's leading provider of market intelligence across the upstream, midstream and downstream energy markets and all other major industrial markets. IIR's Global Market Intelligence Platform (GMI) supports our end-users across their core businesses, and helps them connect trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated project opportunities. Follow IIR on: LinkedIn.