Shell has submitted new plans to develop a huge gas field in the North Sea, six months after they were rejected by environmental regulators, in an attempt to help Britain become less dependent on foreign suppliers. 

The FTSE 100 company said it wanted the Jackdaw field, about 250km east of Aberdeen, to start operating by 2025. 

It argued it would make “a significant contribution to UK energy security” and could be developed with relatively low carbon emissions.

The submission comes as the Government encourages UK producers to increase output to reduce reliance on Russian oil and gas.

Boris Johnson will also meet on Monday with executives from companies involved with nuclear power, including Rolls-Royce, EDF and Westinghouse, about ways to boost Britain’s energy independence, Sky News reported.  

Shell said it was “disappointed” last October when regulators knocked back its Jackdaw plans, days before the UK was due to host the Cop26 climate change conference in Glasgow. 

About two months later Shell pulled out of the major Cambo proposed development west of Shetland, which had become a flashpoint for anti-fossil fuel campaigners.

The company blamed a weak economic case as well as the “the potential for delays” – widely interpreted as a nod to potential legal and regulatory entanglements. 

In its submission about Jackdaw to the Oil and Gas Authority, Shell said: “We have been, and remain, determined to minimise the environmental effects of the Jackdaw development project, including by reducing atmospheric emissions. 

“The Jackdaw project will form part of a wider integrated system that makes a significant contribution to UK energy security, and which Shell is working towards repurposing to facilitate significant future greenhouse gas emissions reductions.”