October 21, 2026

expert reaction to government approval of Jackdaw gas field

Scientists react to government approval of Jackdaw gas field.

Prof Michael Grubb, Professor of International Energy and Climate Change at UCL, said:

“In some – rather extreme – circumstances, Jackdaw could contribute to energy security, because the gas will land in the UK (securing fuel for homes and power stations).   But this decision won’t significantly affect energy bills, since its output will be sold on international markets.

“All fossil fuels emit CO2 when burnt, and there are usually some emissions arising from production itself.  There is a good case that gas from Jackdaw would displace more carbon-intensive imported gas, in which case it would reduce net global emission in the short term – though that remains to be fully validated as it could depend on the composition of the extraction and the extent of cleanup.”

Richard Sulley, Senior Research Fellow in Sustainability Policy at the University of Sheffield’s Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures, said:

“Why approve the Jackdaw gas field? It makes no sense economically, it will create only 27 jobs, and some modest tax receipts for the exchequer. Environmentally if it displaces imported LNG it will reduce emissions marginally, but if it displaces Norwegian gas they will be worse. It will do nothing for the cost of living, the volume extracted will be too small to have a material impact on the global markets. There’s no energy security benefit, it in fact keeps UK industries and consumers exposed to the international markets that set prices and the wills of foreign governments who can control the flow of resources.”

Prof Jon Gluyas, Emeritus Chair in Geoenergy Carbon Capture & Storage, Durham University, said:

“Development of Jackdaw will improve UK energy security and reduce the UK’s emissions because it will displace imported LNG, some of which has emissions as high as burning coal. 

“It is unlikely to lead to reduced gas bills because they are in part controlled by the price of imported LNG and Jackdaw production will not displace all of the LNG the UK imports.  The gas once extracted will flow first to Shearwater and then onto the Barton terminal in Norfolk.

“The UK petroleum industry will benefit – job retention in Aberdeen, balance of payments will benefit a little too, leastways for a short time until the field is depleted in around 10-12 years – though most fields last longer than initially estimated.

“Reinvigoration of a UK petroleum industry is not viable though. Field finding rates will continue to decline and field size reduce. There are better ways of delivering long term energy security  and sustainability, especially for heat (half of all the energy we use is for heating) and it is the Earth beneath the feet of every woman, man and child in the UK that can deliver – geothermal heat for all for ever!

“Development of Jackdaw will, for some, be taken as emerging from an energy crisis – but it isn’t and it could still negatively impact the energy transition and the science, engineering and social change we need for that energy transition.”

Prof Myles Allen FRS, Head of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, University of Oxford, said:

“We heard this morning that United Utilities will deal with the sewage generated by the water they supply around Windermere, but Adura will not take any responsibility for the carbon dioxide generated by the gas they extract from Jackdaw. One day, that will have to change, because the only alternative is a global fossil fuel ban, which is clearly impossible.

“Government could have required Adura to spend some of their substantial profits on capturing a small but rising fraction of the carbon dioxide generated by this project and returning it under the North Sea. That would have generated even more jobs, made Jackdaw the world’s first net-zero-aligned gas field, taken some of the £22 billion cost of developing carbon capture off the taxpayer, and set the world an example of imaginative climate leadership. Fingers crossed for the next big decision, Rosebank.”

All our previous output on this subject can be seen at this weblink: https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/?s=jackdaw&cat=

Declared interests

Jon Gluyas: “I am a founder of the UK National Geothermal Centre.”

Myles Allen: “My group is currently working on a project on Geologically Balanced Fuels for Net Zero Aviation funded by VietJet.”

For all other experts, no reply to our request for DOIs was received.