David Whitehouse, chief executive of Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) has written to all 403 Labour MPs urging them to back an urgent policy reset to prioritise homegrown energy.
The trade body representing almost 500 companies involved in the North Sea’s oil, gas and offshore wind energy industries, says the UK has suffered 50 years of industrial erosion, a growing dependence on imported energy, and the offshoring of its carbon emissions.
It says that the way to show climate leadership and drive down emissions is by supporting domestic energy production across the board and in particular oil and gas which is delivered with a carbon footprint up to four times lower than imports such as liquified natural gas (LNG).
“At a time of global volatility, the UK remains dangerously exposed – importing over 40% of its energy while leaving domestic resources in the ground,” the letter says.
“We find ourselves with government policies that leave the UK importing diesel and jet fuel refined from Russian crude. And yet the government will not prioritise our own North Sea oil and gas production over imports.
“Domestic oil and gas production supports thousands of jobs, billions of pounds of economic value, the supply chain we need for the expansion of renewables, and it comes with a lower carbon footprint than imports. Importantly, the sector also delivers significant production-related taxes that gives the Chancellor choices.
“We need a functioning regulatory regime that enables critical new projects such as Rosebank and Jackdaw to proceed in a timely fashion. These policy changes will unlock more than £13bn of addition tax revenues which can be used to tackle key challenges such as eliminating fuel poverty, and well as protecting the country’s industrial base.”
The letter goes on to contrast the UK’s attitude with left-of-centre governments in Canada, Australia and Norway. In Norway where North Sea oil and gas fields adjoin those of the UK, 57 new oil and gas licences were issued in January and 70 further offshore exploration blocks are due for auction later this year.
In calling for a reset that shows the UK Government understands and values the people and communities which power the UK, the letter points out these countries are all “environmentally responsible actors but fully aware of the importance of domestic energy production for building industrial resilience and energy security.”
