Greenpeace Sues UK Authorities for Approving Shell's Gas Field Project

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The UK branch of environmental organization Greenpeace said on Tuesday that it was suing the country's government as it had approved the development of Shell's Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea without taking into account climate impacts of flaring produced gas.

"Government today faces fresh legal action after it approved a new North Sea gas field without checking the climate damage of burning the gas extracted. Greenpeace argues that the government failed in its legal duty to check the environmental impacts of Shell’s Jackdaw project by refusing to consider the damage caused by burning the gas extracted," the organization said in a statement.

Burning gas extracted from the Jackdaw field will generate more carbon dioxide than the annual emissions of Ghana, the statement added.

The gas from the Jackdaw field will not help ease the UK's energy crisis and will not have any impact on local electricity bills, as it is owned by Shell and will be sold in international markets, according to Greenpeace.

On Monday, Shell said it had made the decision to invest in the Jackdaw gas field in the UK part of the North Sea. The project is scheduled to launch in the mid-2020s, with the daily output estimated at 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent. At this production level, the figure could be more than 6% of the planned gas production in the UK part of the North Sea in the middle of the decade. The investment in the Jackdaw project is part of Shell UK's intention to invest 20-25 billion pounds ($24-30 billion) in the country's energy system in the next 10 years.

Shell is the Anglo-Dutch petroleum giant engaged in the production, processing and marketing of hydrocarbons in more than 70 countries.