MPs are being urged to back North Sea oil and gas to help the UK meet its climate obligations as well as boosting jobs, communities, and the economy.
Energy industry leaders, trade union bosses and others have joined together in open letter to Labour MPs which insists that “support for the North Sea is about more than oil and gas”.
Claiming that current UK policies, including Labour’s opposition to new oil and gas developments, leave the country importing more than 40% of its energy needs from “volatile regions” regions, the letter argues using oil and gas from the North Sea “supports jobs” and “sustains communities”.
And with “comparatively lower emissions” than imported fuel supplies, supporters say that this makes it “a more responsible choice for the climate”.
The letter, signed by Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), the GMB union, the Chemical Industries Association, Fuels Industry UK and others, urges Labour MPs: “For our jobs and communities, economy and security, and for our climate obligations – we are asking you to back North Sea oil and gas. Not imports.”
It adds: “Support for the North Sea is about more than oil and gas. It is a signal that the country remains committed to producing, building and manufacturing.
“It is a signal that Government backs the people and places that have powered this country for generations.”
Workers wearing PPE and hardhats will present the letter to Labour MPs in London after an all industry summit in the capital.
Apprentices will also be present at the event, highlighting the North Sea’s importance for future jobs.
With the letter also signed by the UK Chamber of Shipping, the British Rig Owners Association and the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) amongst others, OEUK chief executive David Whitehouse 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.”
He added: “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.”
GMB general secretary Gary Smith said: “In an increasingly uncertain world, it is more important than ever that we can get the energy we need to power our homes, businesses, and essential public services.
“We will need oil and gas for decades to come. Increasing our reliance on imported energy from overseas for the essential elements that power our economy and keep the country going, leaves us worryingly exposed.”
He added: “GMB is looking to the Government to show it understands the significance of this moment; jobs, communities, and our national security are at stake.”
Steve Elliott, the chief executive of the Chemical Industries Association, stressed the importance of “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”.
He stated: “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.”
And Elizabeth de Jong, chief executive officer at Fuels Industry UK, said that as the UK continues to need fuels “it makes sense to maximise the value created here at home by supporting both refineries and North Sea production”.
She stated: “Domestic manufacturing sustains high-skilled jobs, strengthens energy security and underpins our industrial future.”
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: “It is a bit rich of the oil and gas industry to claim it stands with workers – or that more drilling will improve energy security.
“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.”
Mr Palmer insisted: “The government should ignore the special pleading of companies that have got very rich while households faced soaring energy bills and workers saw declining conditions and security.
“Instead, it should invest in industries with a future, like wind manufacturing, that can provide good jobs for generations of workers.”
