Shell greenlights Jackdaw

Shell has taken a final investment decision on developing the Jackdaw high-temperature, high-pressure gas field in the UK North Sea.

The decision was announced late July 25. It follows a protracted approvals process that initially saw Jackdaw's sanctioning blocked due to environmental concerns.

Jackdaw's development plan was amended in March to incorporate new venting and treatment processes, and the UK's offshore environmental regulator finally gave the go-ahead on May 27.  The FID will help alleviate concerns about indigenous gas supply in the UK.

WoodMackenzie predicts that by 2030, UK oil and gas output could be anywhere between 600,000 barrels of oil equivalent/day and 1.6mn b/d, depending on investment levels. Whitehall is backing more domestic upstream investments to counter the cost-of-living crunch facing British households, amid surging energy prices due to the Ukraine war.

Shell currently expects to achieve first gas from Jackdaw in 2024. The central North Sea project is slated to produce 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent/day at peak, according to Shell's 2015 to 2019 investor's handbook. Jackdaw is believed contain between 120mn and 250mn of oil equivalent in reserves, though only some of these hydrocarbons will be recoverable.