How Much Gas Could Jackdaw Provide? And Will It Cut Your Energy Bills?

The UK government has approved drilling at the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea. The field is about 150 miles east of Aberdeen, Scotland. It is owned by Adura Energy, a company shared equally between Shell and Equinor. After years of legal challenges, gas from Jackdaw could flow into Britain's gas network within weeks.

Jackdaw holds around 10 million cubic metres of recoverable gas. That could meet about 1.6% of the UK's gas needs from 2026 to 2036. The field is expected to produce gas for up to 11 years. Operators say it could be connected to the national network very soon.

Right now, about half of the UK's natural gas comes from its own North Sea fields. The rest is imported, mostly from Norway through pipelines. The UK also imports Liquefied Natural Gas, or LNG, which is gas cooled into liquid and shipped by sea. In 2025, the US provided about a quarter of all UK gas imports in this form.

Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said the gas from Jackdaw 'won't lower energy bills this winter.' Most energy experts agree with this view. Britain's gas prices are linked to a wider European market, where prices are set by what buyers across the continent will pay. Wars in Ukraine and Iran have pushed those prices higher in recent years.

The extra gas from Jackdaw is a small amount compared to what Europe uses. It is unlikely to change European gas prices by much. Professor Karl Matikonis told BBC Verify that North Sea gas is sold at market prices, not saved for British consumers at a lower cost. So more UK drilling does not automatically mean lower bills for UK households.

The project could still bring in more tax money for the UK government from profits made by Jackdaw's owner. The government plans to use North Sea tax revenues to fund a new energy wealth fund. This fund would invest in greener energy to reduce the UK's reliance on gas. The government says this will 'help get bills down for good in the long term.'

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the field will 'protect hundreds of jobs,' and trade unions welcomed the decision. Jackdaw's owner estimates around 500 jobs will be supported, including roles at nearby sites. However, only 27 of those jobs would be directly on the Jackdaw platform. The project's main job benefits are spread across the wider energy industry.

Some experts say Jackdaw improves energy security by giving the UK more gas through a pipeline it controls. They worry that depending on overseas LNG shipments is risky, especially after Donald Trump suggested banning US diesel exports to Europe. Other experts are less convinced, saying the UK would still rely heavily on imports. The debate over energy security is ongoing.

The environmental impact of Jackdaw is also debated. US LNG creates about three times more emissions than North Sea gas when you count liquefying, shipping, and converting it. But Norwegian gas, which the UK already imports, has lower emissions than UK North Sea gas because Norway uses newer technology. Whether Jackdaw helps or hurts the environment depends on which energy source it ends up replacing.

Some analysts warn that any new fossil fuel project could increase global emissions overall. Jonathan Stern of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies said that gas from Norway and the US will likely be produced anyway, so Jackdaw just adds more fossil fuels to the world's supply. Even so, Jackdaw is small compared to global energy use, so its direct worldwide impact would be limited. The full picture is complex and uncertain.