Jackdaw gas field approved, but unlikely to cut UK energy bills

The North Sea Transition Authority granted developer Adura consent on 21 October to develop and produce gas from Jackdaw, about 250km east of Aberdeen. Adura says the field could begin supplying gas within weeks, but the regulator says production can follow only when development work is complete. Gas has not yet begun to flow. [1] [2] [4]

At its projected peak in 2027–28, Jackdaw could produce up to four million cubic metres of gas a day, according to the energy secretary’s assessment. That would add about 6% to UK North Sea gas production. Adura says peak output would be enough to heat the equivalent of 1.4 million homes, a comparison based on spreading household consumption across a year. On a rare cold winter’s day, the government estimates, that output would meet the demand of about 350,000 homes and provide less than 1% of the gas available from all sources. [2] [4]

The extra domestic supply would make a small but meaningful contribution to security of supply, the energy secretary concluded. It would not substantially reduce the UK’s dependence on imports or materially affect consumer bills: Britain pays prices shaped by international gas markets. [2]

Jackdaw’s previous consent, granted in 2022, was quashed by a Scottish court in 2025 because the environmental assessment had not accounted for emissions from burning the gas. In the new decision, the energy secretary judged the project compatible with UK climate commitments while finding that its greenhouse gas emissions would have a significant environmental effect. The assessment estimates about 36.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent over the project’s life under a high-production scenario. Conditions require Adura to minimise and measure CO₂ vented during processing; the eventual net effect on global emissions remains uncertain because it is not known which other gas supplies Jackdaw will replace. [2]