Jackdaw approval ‘will underpin jobs and supplies’ – Daily Business

Jackdaw is expected to be producing within months

Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh is expected to give the go-ahead to the controversial Jackdaw gas field today, a move that will be met with deeply divided reaction.

Campaigners and some Labour MPs claim it signals the wrong move at a time when climate change is clearly evident.

Supporters say that not approving the field off Scotland’s east coast, along with the Rosebank oil field west of Shetland, would do nothing to prevent climate change as the UK continues to need supplies of oil and gas.

Allowing these fields to go ahead would also provide the revenue to invest in the transition to green energy.

The fate of the two projects has been delayed for two years since approval granted by the previous Conservative government was overturned in a Scottish court in January last year. However, it also allowed for development to proceed and Jackdaw in particular is ready to begin production.

The developer, Adura, co-owned by Shell and Norwegian oil giant Equinor, says Jackdaw is capable of supplying up to 6% of UK gas demand, and the two oil and gas fields will support 3,500 jobs at peak construction and raise almost £4bn in taxes by 2034.

Shell says emissions from Jackdaw will not materially influence global climate change. The UK still sources around 45% of gas supply from the North Sea, and fuel extracted from Jackdaw will feed directly into the domestic network.

While domestic prices are unlikely to be affected, Jacksaw would displace imports that, in the case of liquified natural gas (LNG), come with a higher carbon footprint.

Labour is committed to banning new oil and gas licences but Prime Minister Andy Burnham has promised “a pragmatic approach”.

The SNP last week signalled a softening of its policy on oil and gas, with its annual conference supporting a motion by its Energy Secretary Stephen Gethins stating that “domestic production, reviewed by climate compatibility assessments, is clearly preferable to importation where the carbon footprint of international imports is greater.”

The vote represents a subtle but significant shift from the party’s “presumption against” further exploration.

However, the Greens and environmental groups continue to argue that drilling should stop.

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s head of campaigns Caroline Rance said: “The UK Government has chosen to put hundreds of thousands more people at risk from fuel poverty and extreme weather by approving new gas drilling.

“Giving Jackdaw the green light is guaranteeing more climate impacts like the deadly heatwaves and wildfires in the UK this summer, and the devastating floods in Nepal.

“Every extra bit of gas that stays in the ground is important, because every fraction of a degree matters to people who are suffering from the impacts of a rapidly heating world.”

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