Initially rejected in October 2021, the Jackdaw offshore gas field has seen its environmental plan resubmitted for approval by operator Shell last week. According to the document, the field will start production in late 2025, supplying 6.5% of the UK’s gas production.
Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment & Decommissioning (OPRED) expects the public consultation period to end on 18 April 2022, after which the regulator will be able to assess it. As long as the evaluation process does not face any additional obstacles, a final investment decision (FID) for the project would be possible in the next three months.
Jackdaw, expected to hold between 120m and 250m barrels of oil equivalent, is a fundamental part of Shell’s natural gas development plan at the Shearwater hub, in the central area of the North Sea. Instead of removing its entirety offshore, some of the carbon dioxide present in Jackdaw’s extracted gas will be treated onshore, at the St Fergus terminal.
The new update on the project’s environmental licencing process comes after severe highs in oil and gas prices following the war in Ukraine and Europe’s will to diminish its dependence on the Russian energy market.
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