BG International Limited has taken the final investment decision (FID) to develop the Jackdaw gas field in the UK North Sea. The project is expected to come online in the mid-2020s, and at peak production rates, could represent over 6% of projected UK North Sea gas production in the middle of this decade, with operational emissions of less than 1% of the whole UK basin.
Jackdaw is part of Shell U.K.’s broader intent to invest £20 to £25 billion in the UK energy system in the next decade, with the aim of investing 75% in the development of low and zero-carbon products and services.
Jackdaw will help ensure the overall decline in UK North Sea production is gradual rather than too steep, matching a gradual drop in hydrocarbon demand as the energy transition takes place. Gas from the Jackdaw field will come ashore at St Fergus, where Shell is involved in the development of the Acorn Carbon Capture and Storage project, which could sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial clusters in Scotland, the UK and northern Europe. The Acorn project could also reform natural gas into low-carbon hydrogen, by capturing and storing the CO2.
