{"id":809817,"date":"2026-10-22T00:58:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T00:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/809817\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T00:58:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T00:58:16","slug":"the-jackdaw-gas-field-and-what-it-means-for-the-climate-crisis-and-your-bills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/809817\/","title":{"rendered":"The Jackdaw gas field and what it means for the climate crisis and your bills"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Plans to begin drilling in the North Sea\u2019s Jackdaw gas field <\/a>off the coast of Scotland have been approved by ministers, confirming the future of the project which at points appeared to be uncertain.<\/p>\n

Prime minister Andy Burnham has insisted the decision will \u201cprotect hundreds of jobs and help keep millions of homes warm\u201d while also sticking to pledges on renewable energy.<\/p>\n

But the move is controversial<\/a>, with critics arguing that it goes agains the government\u2019s green commitments.<\/p>\n

In its 2024 manifesto, the government said it would not issue any new oil and gas licences in the North Sea, but added that it would honour existing ones such as Jackdaw.<\/p>\n

Energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh says her decision comes after \u201ccareful consideration of all relevant factors,\u201d adding that it is in line with the government\u2019s climate commitments.<\/a><\/p>\n

She said: \u201cThis decision will support the country\u2019s energy security with homegrown gas this winter and help minimise the UK\u2019s use of imported higher emission fuels as we continue our transition to renewables and nuclear.<\/p>\n

\"EnergyEnergy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has approved drilling in the Jackdaw gas field (Getty)<\/p>\n

The government is yet to make a decision on Rosebank, another North Sea<\/a> drilling project off the coast of Shetland.<\/p>\n

What is Jackdaw?<\/p>\n

Jackdaw is an untapped gas<\/a> field that lies about 150 miles east of Aberdeen. It is operated by Adura, a joint venture formed by energy companies Shell<\/a> and Equinor.<\/p>\n

It was approved by the previous Tory government in 2022, while Rosebank was given the green light in 2023.<\/p>\n

Both of these decisions were then struck down by the Scottish courts after a challenge from environmental campaigners.<\/p>\n

The move followed a Supreme Court ruling that developers had to account for the climate impact caused by burning fossil fuels in their planning applications.<\/p>\n

Adura has since \u200bshared new information on the emissions from the end use of gas and oil<\/a> extacted from Jackdaw and Rosebank.<\/p>\n

Fresh public consultations on the proposals took place this year, closing in August to leave the final decision with the government.<\/p>\n

What is controversial about the project?<\/p>\n

Although both Jackdaw and Rosebank, if approved, would be in line with the government\u2019s manifesto commitments, experts have warned they go against ministers\u2019 aims on renewables and energy independence.<\/p>\n

Adura and other voices in the gas industry have said that production across the two sites will support UK jobs while also boosting the country\u2019s energy security, especially as the US-Iran war drives up imported fuel costs worldwide.<\/p>\n

But campaigners say the new gas fields will actually have little impact on prices, while damaging the UK\u2019s efforts to reduce its carbon emissions.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Jackdaw platform in the North Sea (PA)<\/p>\n

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said the world should not invest in new fossil fuel supply if it is to limit global warming to the key Paris Agreement target of 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.<\/p>\n

Britain is considered a world climate leader in its pursuit of Paris Agreement goals, and has legally binding commitments to cut emissions to zero overall by 2050.<\/p>\n

Green leader Zack Polanski<\/a> described the decision as \u201cclimate vandalism\u201d, claiming that \u201cLabour has abandoned all credibility in the fight against climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n

A decision is yet to be made on the Rosebank project, but the energy secretary has indicated that the government will not necessarily take the same approach.<\/p>\n

She told BBC Radio Scotland<\/a>: \u201cJackdaw is producing gas that predominantly is used in the domestic market, Rosebank is a different proposition because it is oil that is exported\u201d.<\/p>\n

Will Jackdaw lower energy bills?<\/p>\n

The big question for UK consumers is a straightforward one to ask. But campaigners against the gas fields are unequivocal in their belief that any benefits will not be seen by households, with energy transition support group Uplift saying \u201cit won\u2019t knock a penny off our energy bills\u201d.<\/p>\n

This is because the resources will be sold at prices dictated by international markets, which are influenced by factors such as the supply disruptions currently being caused by the Middle East crisis.<\/p>\n

While gas from Jackdaw will feed directly onto the UK\u2019s grid, it will still come at a cost governed by the high global market prices.<\/p>\n

Uplift\u2019s executive director, Tessa Khan, said: \u201cJackdaw will provide around just 2 per cent of our gas demand for roughly ten years. It has been oversold and won\u2019t stop the decline in North Sea jobs, as it will be largely unmanned and operated remotely.<\/p>\n

\"CampaignersCampaigners have said that the new gas fields will actually have little impact on prices, while damaging the UK\u2019s efforts to reduce its carbon emissions (Getty)<\/p>\n

\u201cShell will be cheering this decision but it won\u2019t knock a penny off our energy bills, which is what\u2019s keeping people up at night, or make a meaningful difference to our gas supply.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jess Ralston, analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), said: \u201cLet\u2019s be clear, approving Jackdaw won’t do anything meaningful to bring down energy bills or improve the UK’s energy security.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will new North Sea drilling help to boost the economy and energy security?<\/p>\n

Bosses at Adura and industry stakeholders have argued the two projects will provide domestically produced gas to British homes.<\/p>\n

Supporters say the fields will also improve the UK\u2019s energy security.<\/p>\n

However, even if the UK could legally or practically ringfence the resources entirely for domestic use rather than export \u2013 which it cannot \u2013 the country would still remain a net importer of fossil fuels, beholden to volatile international prices and supply disruptions.<\/p>\n

The group Uplift, which campaigns for a transition away from oil and gas production in the UK, has found that Jackdaw would have no meaningful impact on the UK\u2019s energy security \u2013 providing just 2 per cent of UK gas demand over its roughly 10-year lifetime.<\/p>\n

Many environmentalists and experts have argued that only by boosting homegrown clean energy can the UK improve its energy security.<\/p>\n

The End Fuel Poverty Coalition argued that the North Sea basin is in decline and approving new projects will prolong the country\u2019s exposure to price shocks, while ministers should be focusing on accelerating the transition.<\/p>\n

Will the project create jobs?<\/p>\n

Although one of the most championed points in favour of Jackdaw is the creation of British jobs, industry documents released in July show that only 27 full-time roles will be created as a result of the project.<\/p>\n

The document from Adura stated: \u201cOver the lifetime of the field there would be a consistent level of employment averaging at nearly 500 jobs a year in direct, indirect and induced employment \u2013 this includes 273 direct jobs which exist on the Shearwater host installation and [an] additional 27 Jackdaw-specific jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Responding to reports at the time, an Adura spokesperson said: \u201cJackdaw and Rosebank will support 3,500 jobs at peak construction with 880 high-quality, well-paid jobs sustained throughout production in communities across the UK.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe projects will generate a combined gross value added of over \u00a328bn across their lifetimes and generate immediate tax revenues of \u00a31.4bn before the end of this parliament.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rosebank is understood to be significantly larger than Jackdaw. The project is estimated to cost \u00a38.7bn over its 25 year lifespan, compared to \u00a32.1bn for Jackdaw over 11 years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":809818,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[184846,265703,24894,63355,6494,3907,309,1397,11237,109825,184837,265704,6487,229,84397,90,255053,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-809817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-attending","tag-cabinet-meeting","tag-carbon-neutrality","tag-central-london","tag-color-image","tag-downing-street","tag-england","tag-environment","tag-horizontal","tag-leaving","tag-london-england","tag-miatta-fahnbulleh-politician","tag-photography","tag-politics","tag-politics-and-government","tag-science","tag-secretary-of-state","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=809817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809817\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/809818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=809817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=809817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=809817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}