The UK government approved the Jackdaw gas field in the central North Sea on Wednesday 21 October 2026, with Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh and Chancellor John Healey announcing the decision from Aberdeen. The project, operated by Adura — the joint venture formed by Shell and Equinor — could begin supplying gas to British homes and businesses as early as the end of October, Fahnbulleh said. At peak production, the field is expected to increase domestic gas output by around 6% and support UK supply over a lifespan of up to 11 years.
Adura has said Jackdaw will produce up to 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent of natural gas per day at peak output. The field sits approximately 150 miles east of Aberdeen, with its wellhead platform exporting multi-phase fluids via a 30-kilometre subsea pipeline tied back to the Shearwater platform for onward processing, with produced gas then exported via the SEGAL pipeline. Shell has invested over £1 billion in executing the project, with contracts spanning 30 supply-chain companies and supporting over 1,000 jobs. Alongside the Jackdaw approval, the government announced a new Energy Wealth Fund with a £2 billion downpayment to reinvest oil and gas revenues into the climate transition.
The decision arrives on a day when UK inflation jumped to 3.5%, driven in part by petrol and diesel costs rising at their fastest pace in four years. Britain's high energy costs for households and industry have weighed on the economy, and US President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to expand drilling in the North Sea to help lower prices. Burnham said it was right to look responsibly at maximising existing energy reserves at a time when people are struggling.
The Jackdaw approval resolves a protracted legal dispute. The field was originally approved by the previous Conservative government in 2022, and Shell took the final investment decision in July of that year. However, in January 2025, Scotland's Court of Session ruled those approvals unlawful — alongside those for the Rosebank oil field — because the climate impact of burning the extracted hydrocarbons had not been adequately considered. That ruling followed the June 2024 Supreme Court 'Finch' judgment, which mandated that environmental impact assessments must account for downstream Scope 3 emissions from burning extracted fuel. Shell submitted a revised environmental impact assessment in September 2025, paving the way for Wednesday's consent. The Rosebank field, also operated by the Adura joint venture, is being considered separately. Environmental law charity ClientEarth said it was dismayed by the decision, with UK head Kyle Lischak describing it as 'very worrying' [Source: The Guardian]. Labour's 2024 election manifesto had committed to a ban on new drilling licences while honouring existing ones — a distinction the government has leaned on in defending the Jackdaw approval.
Sources: The Guardian, Bloomberg, Reuters, NBC News, Offshore Technology, ChemAnalyst, New Civil Engineer, Institute for Government, North Sea Transition Authority, UK Government