The newly approved Jackdaw gas field will provide the UK with just two days of extra gas this winter, according to new data given to Metro. The analysis, drawn from the gas company's own estimates, suggests the drilling will produce only half a day of extra gas before 2027.
Analysis of Jackdaw output
The research has sparked derision of the government's claims that the venture will improve the UK's energy security and help customers during the cost-of-living crisis. After months of speculation, prime minister Andy Burnham backed drilling at the North Sea gas field in October, with the project forecast to start supplying gas to the UK by the end of October.
Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh pledged that the site would 'support the country's energy security with homegrown gas this winter and help minimise the UK's use of imported higher emission fuels'.
Uplift's claims and company response
An analysis by anti-oil group Uplift has claimed that Jackdaw will only produce two days' worth of extra gas this winter. The campaigners took figures directly from official assessments from the company operating the project, Adura, and compared them with official projections for gas demand this winter. The analysis suggested that Jackdaw will pump out enough extra gas to cover only half a day's worth of demand in 2026.
Adura is a joint venture combining energy giants Shell and Equinor, who last week announced £8bn and £2bn profits respectively for the third quarter of 2026 alone.
Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift, said: 'Andy Burnham is completely overselling Jackdaw – it will barely be heating our homes this winter, and will certainly not "significantly strengthen" our energy security, as he's claimed.'
'If the Chancellor cares about putting more money in people's pockets and boosting the economy, he needs to stop the profiteering of companies like Shell that are getting obscenely rich at our expense.'
Government promises and criticism
Labour had promised a ban on new drilling licences in the North Sea during the 2024 election, although this did not apply to Jackdaw because it was first granted a licence in 2022. The government has already admitted that the new drilling will create only 27 new jobs.
The UK Energy Research Centre has already said Jackdaw will not cut energy bills, with the Ofgem price cap forecast to surge to £2,100 a year for typical households this January.
TV Presenter Chris Packham told Metro that the new data showed 'we'll all burn baby burn whilst the oil and gas giants get fatter and we get colder and poorer.' He added: 'No energy price reductions, security or sustainability. If only we'd elected a government that cared about our future . . . but no, they've just thrown us on Shell's handcart to hell.'
Labour backbencher Richard Burgon MP told Metro: 'These new figures underline how the decision to approve Jackdaw flies in the face of all the evidence. It will do nothing to lower people's energy bills or deliver the energy security we need.'
He urged the government not to approve the Rosebank oil field, which officials are yet to make a decision on. The project in Britain's largest untapped oil field was granted a licence by the government in 2023, but has been slowed down by legal challenges from environmental campaigners.
Reactions and responses
In last week's Autumn Budget, the Chancellor promised a £100 payment to families in Council Tax bands A to D to help with energy costs. However, the End Fuel Poverty Coalition said the government's hope of creating 'breathing space' was an 'abject failure'. Their coordinator Simon Francis said: 'The decision to provide a £100 rebate via Council Tax is badly targeted, insufficient and will be swallowed up by credit card debt, rising supermarket prices and the cost of living.'
Lang Banks, director at WWF Scotland, said: 'Claims that approving the Jackdaw gas field were all about security of supply have been shown to be false. Worse still is that the decision won't take a penny off the cost our soaring energy bills. The public has been misled about this approval, and instead of giving the go ahead to the even more climate-wreaking Rosebank oil field, the UK and Scottish governments should be working together to deliver a transition that is fair for workers, communities, and consumers.'
Carla Denyer, Green MP for Bristol Central, said: 'Jackdaw was an irresponsible decision from a government that seems to care more about protecting the profits of fossil fuel companies than the money in people's pockets or the safety of our planet.'
An Adura spokesperson said: 'Jackdaw will provide an estimated six per cent of projected UK North Sea gas production – enough to heat the equivalent of 1.4 million homes – at peak production. This is a material contribution to Britain's domestic energy supply and UK energy security.'
A DESNZ spokesperson said: 'This is a misleading way of looking at security of supply, which is diverse and resilient. Jackdaw is expected to increase domestic gas production by around 6% at its peak, boosting our energy security, protecting hundreds of jobs and adding an estimated £2.9 billion to the UK economy. The decision is compatible with our legally binding climate commitments, and we remain resolute in ending new licences for oil and gas and achieving net zero by 2050.'
