(Image: Jane Barlow/PA)
Jackdaw is hardly going to become one of the North Sea’s great centres of employment, but the job implications of the £2.1 billion gas development reach far beyond its location around 150 miles east of Aberdeen.
The installation is designed to operate without a permanent offshore workforce, with just 27 additional direct full-time equivalent jobs associated with Jackdaw. Yet for the engineering, logistics and service companies supporting North Sea operations, its wider significance lies in the work generated through the supply chain.
The UK Government says Jackdaw will protect hundreds of jobs and estimates the project will add £2.9bn to the UK economy. There will certainly be work throughout the supply chain, but the harder question is whether one development – substantial though it is – can make a material difference to an industry seeking enough activity to justify continued investment in people, equipment and skills.
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Mike Pettigrew, chief executive of energy logistics group ASCO, argues that the benefits of projects such as Jackdaw stretch to the “quayside, warehouse, vessel operator and apprentice”. Businesses weighing decisions on recruitment, equipment and training, he says, need a credible pipeline of work.
This cuts to the heart of the employment argument. The importance of Jackdaw lies less in creating large numbers of permanent jobs than in helping companies retain workers and capabilities they already have.
Mr Pettigrew warns that specialist North Sea capacity cannot simply be mothballed and recalled when needed. Once lost, he says, rebuilding it takes time and money.
Jackdaw, however, cannot carry that burden alone.
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Bill Main, deputy managing director of Aberdeen-based Balmoral Group, says the decision gives supply chain businesses greater certainty to plan, invest and support longer-term growth. Crucially, however, he acknowledges that a single project will not resolve the wider challenges facing the industry.
Mark Stewart, head of energy, infrastructure and sustainability at Johnston Carmichael, makes a similar point.
“One project, with a relatively limited production lifespan, is not going to resolve the UK's wider energy challenges," he said. "Jackdaw has dominated much of the political debate around the North Sea, but its approval will not fundamentally alter our exposure to international gas markets or address the structural issues affecting energy costs."
He added: "We should recognise the positive contribution of the development without overstating what any individual project can achieve."
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There is also the longer-term issue of retaining capability. ASCO says expertise developed in oil and gas is already being deployed into offshore wind and other low-carbon projects. Its contention is that continuing North Sea activity can help preserve the workforce and industrial capacity needed as the energy sector changes.
Patent attorney Tomas Karger of Marks & Clerk sees similar potential in the engineering and remote technology being deployed: “The technical solutions pioneered on projects like Jackdaw, which is reported to be among the lowest-emission developments in the UKCS, will serve as a vital blueprint for energy projects worldwide. This expertise can be exported globally, potentially creating new jobs and reducing emissions on a global scale."
Jackdaw’s employment legacy, therefore, is unlikely to be judged simply by the number of people working on the field itself.
It alone cannot secure the future of the North Sea supply chain, but £2.1bn of work is not immaterial either. Coming at a time when retaining skilled workers and specialist capability is an increasingly important priority, Jackdaw's significance stretches far beyond a remote automated platform east of Aberdeen.