UK Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch’s pledge to maximise oil and gas extraction from the North Sea has faced criticism from industry and experts.
The opposition leader told the Society of Petroleum Engineers Offshore Europe conference in Aberdeen earlier today that, if elected, her party would make the strategy a “cornerstone” of the UK economy, highlighting recent resource discoveries made by neighbouring Norway.
Badenoch said: “We have the same opportunity to invest in our own energy, to power our own homes, to protect our sovereignty, yet instead we are importing oil and gas from abroad while banned from extracting it at home. We are sabotaging ourselves.
“Labour sees the North Sea as a relic of the past; we don’t. We see it as a cornerstone of Britain’s future.
“By restoring common sense to energy policy, we will unlock billions in revenue, we will secure our supply, and we will rebuild confidence in the UK economy.”
Trade association RenewableUK’s executive policy director Ana Musat said the best way to strengthen domestic energy security is by focusing on the clean energy transition.
“Electricity demand is set to surge in the UK over the next five to 10 years, with more electric vehicles, data centres and heat pumps coming online,” Musat added.
“The best way to meet this demand is to scale up on renewables as fast as possible, as clean power projects generate electricity at a stable and predictable prices.
“The UK has the best wind resources in Europe, and as we build even larger projects further out to sea where wind speeds are even higher, offshore wind is taking its place at the heart of our energy system.
“The UK’s extractable oil and gas reserves in the North Sea have dwindled to a point where we can no longer rely on them to meet our growing power needs, so renewables need to be a key part of the generation mix if we are to achieve energy security.”
Ed Matthew, UK programme director for the independent climate change think tank E3G, criticised Badenoch’s policy announcement as “highly irresponsible”.
He said: “Prioritising oil and gas extraction, which is in terminal decline in the North Sea, as the ‘cornerstone’ of the UK economy would be an economic act of monumental self-harm.
“It would leave us with ongoing dependence on energy imports and at the mercy of volatile fossil fuel prices.
“If Kemi Badenoch was truly interested in economic growth, energy independence and bringing down bills she would today be backing a plan to maximise extraction of the UK’s abundant renewables resource, including offshore wind.”
Shaun Spiers, executive director at Green Alliance, said: “Kemi Badenoch is playing games with people’s future jobs if she plans to extract every last drop of the North Sea’s declining oil and gas reserves under a Conservative government.
“Twice as much investment went into clean energy than oil and gas last year around the world, according to the International Energy Agency.
“The UK remains the second most attractive destination for that capital in Europe, but only if we send the right signals to investors, and keep moving forward to a clean energy system which will give families and businesses stable energy prices for decades to come.”
A spokesperson for the Labour government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said diversifying North Sea industries is key to protecting jobs and investment in the long-term, building on support already announced by the government for offshore wind, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.
“We are already delivering a fair and orderly transition in the North Sea to drive growth and secure skilled jobs for future generations, with the biggest ever investment in offshore wind and two first of a kind carbon capture and storage clusters,” they said.
“We are committed to delivering the manifesto commitment to not issue new licences to explore new fields because they will not take a penny off bills, cannot make us energy secure, and will only accelerate the worsening climate crisis.”