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Jackdaw gas platform seeks UK approval to secure winter supply
Adura, which says Jackdaw could provide 6% of UK gas from 1 October, argues the project is hyper critical after courts ruled related approvals unlawful.
Scotland editor reports that Adura, the operator of the Jackdaw gas platform in the North Sea, is urging the UK government to approve production, warning it is hyper critical to avoid potential domestic gas supply shortages this winter. Speaking from the field about 150 miles east of Aberdeen, Adura chief executive Neil McCulloch said the project is in its final stages and could supply gas starting 1 October.
BBC Business adds that UK regulators are considering revised applications for production at Jackdaw, along with Adura's Rosebank oil field west of Shetland, after a court ruled both were unlawfully approved. The company said the wells are drilled and hooked up, and that it is readying systems for production in the event government approval is granted.
The report notes that Adura is a joint venture between Shell and Norway's state energy firm Equinor, and that the Jackdaw project has cost about £1.5 billion so far. McCulloch said Jackdaw would help provide energy security, employment, and taxation for the UK.
Environmental campaigners cited by BBC News argue the need for climate action is demonstrated by this summer's deadly, record breaking heatwaves, and they say approving new fossil projects would not meaningfully reduce import dependence, estimating Jackdaw would cut it by 2% despite producing 6% of annual gas supply over the field's lifetime. They also claim the case for rejecting both projects includes the potential for still, cloudy weather that would impede wind and solar generation.