Shell is set to install a gas platform in the North Sea this spring, even though, it has been temporarily blocked from drilling.
As per Sky News, the Jackdaw field has the potential to supply gas over a million homes in the UK, but a recent Scottish court ruling has blocked the extraction.
As a result, Shell now needs new approval from the UK government to proceed with gas extraction.
As per the reports, a judge in Edinburgh ruled that the previous Conservative government acted illegally when it approved Shell’s Jackdaw and Rosebank oil projects.
Rosebank is the UK’s largest untapped oilfield, containing around 350 million barrels of oil.
While, both projects could still move forward in the future, the court found that the original approval failed to consider the environmental impacts of burning the extracted oil and gas.
Because of this, drilling is currently banned until new permissions are granted.
A Shell spokesman said in a statement, noting, "The ruling rightly allows work to progress on this nationally important energy project while new consents are sought.
"We have spent more than £800m since the regulator approved Jackdaw. Swift action is needed from the government so that we and other North Sea operators can make decisions about vital UK energy infrastructure,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the UK government stated that “it will work at speed to reassess permissions.”
