North Sea bosses sending 'strongly worded letter' to Labour MPs on homegrown oil and gas production
Oil and gas bosses say choosing domestically produced oil over imports is a ‘key policy choice’
North Sea oil and gas bosses are to deliver a “strongly worded letter” to Labour MPs today, urging them to back homegrown energy over imports.
The letter, which is being addressed to all 403 Labour MPs in the House of Commons, has been signed by a range of industry executives, trade unionists and trade bodies from across the offshore energy and shipping sectors.
The letter will say the UK requires oil and gas production “for decades” and says choosing domestically produced oil over imports is a “key policy choice”, as reliance on imports from other countries exposes the UK to geopolitical risks while also undermining jobs.
David Whitehouse, chief executive of Offshore Energies UK, said: “Our colleagues in other industries are joining us to show their support for this basic message.
“Energy security, economic resilience and reindustrialisation depend on maintaining domestic energy production as well as greater investment in renewable and low-carbon technologies.
“We fully support the government’s ambition to build a secure, lower-carbon energy system, but energy transition must follow an ‘all-energy approach’ that builds on existing industrial strengths and strengthens rather than weakens national industrial capability.”
The letter is due to be handed over to a group of “sympathetic” MPs in London’s Parliament Square at lunchtime.
Steve Elliot, chief executive of Chemical Industries Association, said: “As a key foundation industry which is core to jobs and to the wider economy, the UK chemical sector must attract investment.
“Fundamental to that is our ability to access competitive and secure energy to run our factories and to produce the critical materials that underpin the country’s critical infrastructure, our growth sectors and the clean energy future.
“If the new administration is serious about re-industrialisation and good growth across the country, then it must do all it can to make that energy competitive and secure.
“Backing North Sea oil and gas alongside renewables is not about slowing progress.
“On the contrary, it is about strengthening industrial competitiveness, protecting jobs and reducing reliance on imports in an increasingly volatile world.”
Industry bosses are due to hold a summit nearby immediately before they hand over their letter to Labour MPs at lunchtime.
Andy Burnham, who is expected to take over as UK Labour leader and Prime Minister later this month, is understood to be sympathetic to calls from the industry and backbenchers on homegrown energy.
It is also understood that Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has been lobbying Mr Burnham on the matter ahead of his appointment as party leader.
Writing in The Scotsman earlier this month, Mr Burnham said the UK needs to “safeguard sovereign manufacturing and production capabilities in critical sectors”, including energy, but also said there are opportunities in “hydrogen and carbon capture2.
Scottish Labour has been approached for comment.
A UK Government spokesperson said: “Oil and gas production will be with us for decades to come, and we will manage existing fields for the entirety of their lifespan – while actively scaling up clean energy industries in the North Sea.
“Issuing new licences to explore new fields cannot give us energy security and will not take a penny off bills.
“Our ambitious plans will make the North Sea a clean energy powerhouse and support up to 40,000 new jobs in Scotland by 2030.”
Meanwhile, Robert Palmer, deputy director of environmental campaign group Uplift said: “After 60 years of drilling, the North Sea is a declining, ultra-mature basin. The UK has burned most of its gas and what’s left is mostly oil, the vast majority of which is exported and sold on international markets. New drilling will do little for energy security.”
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.