Jackdaw boss warns of winter fuel shortages if gas field not approved

McCulloch said: “If I were secretary of state responsible for energy security and net zero, I would be looking closely at where my next source of energy security is, and you are focusing on that.

“The wells have been opened and are being connected. We are just preparing the systems. It will be ready on October 1.

“Jackdaw will play a vital role in this winter’s gas supply,” he added, providing the UK with energy security, jobs and taxation.

Environmentalists say Jackdaw will produce only 2% of the country’s annual gas demand over the life of the field.

Tessa Khan, chief executive of campaign group Uplift, said: “It would be a great betrayal of the British public for the UK government to approve new oil and gas fields at a time when ordinary people are suffering so much from these record-breaking heatwaves.”

In response, McCulloch said: “So we’re all watching the same news and seeing this.

“But what we say is that Jackdaw should not shoulder that, or he should take a very small part of it.

“This is a very, very small fraction of total global emissions.”