Prime Minister Andy Burnham has told Donald Trump that he would “open up the North Sea” for oil drilling, the US president has said.
During a White House briefing on Wednesday, Mr Trump claimed the UK would be “a really rich country” if it drilled for oil, and that there was up to 700 years’ worth under the sea.
Pressure to halt burning fossil fuels is ramping up further as the UK suffers its fourth heatwave of the year, with a record number of days over 35C and half the country in official drought. France and Spain have been racked by devastating wildfires during an even worse heatwave amid the climate crisis.
The president said he had tried to persuade Sir Keir Starmer during his premiership to “open up the North Sea” but that he could not get the then prime minister to do so.
Mr Burnham and Mr Trump spoke on the phone last Monday, but there was no mention of oil in the Downing Street summary of the conversation.
There had been reports then that the new prime minister would back new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.
The president told reporters: “Well, he did say one very good thing. He said he’s going to open up North Sea oil. If he does that, you’re going to be a wealthy country.”
Insisting the UK had “windmills all over the place”, which were made in China, he said Britain also bought oil from Norway.
“Norway's got trillions of dollars in the bank. Trillions. It sells its oil from the North Sea, and Scotland has a better part of the North Sea,” Mr Trump said.
“And you have 500, 600, 700 years. You have areas of the North Sea that haven’t even been explored yet. You have one of the most valuable oil finds anywhere in the world, and if the United Kingdom would just ... they'd be a wealthy country again.”
He went on: “I could not get Starmer to use it. It was incredible. Every oil company that I meet, and these are all big giants, every person that I know in the oil business said, ‘Please, could you open up the North Sea? Could you get them to open it?’ They're dying to do it.”
Claiming Aberdeen had “the best oil anywhere on the planet”, he added: “The new gentleman, when I spoke to him, he said he’s going to open up the North Sea.”
Asked to confirm or deny Mr Burnham had pledged to drill for oil, a No 10 spokesperson referred to last week’s official summary of the conversation. It read: “Setting out his vision as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister said he would be focused on ensuring reindustrialisation up and down the country to ensure good growth in every postcode.
“The Prime Minister also underlined his commitment to defence and security and said ensuring the security of the UK and its Allies was at the top of his agenda.”
Under Sir Keir, the Labour government committed to ending new licences for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea.
How much longer North Sea oil reserves would last is disputed.
Experts from the UK’s renewable energy industry believe reserves would not last much beyond 2050. Official statistics suggest that 93 per cent of the oil and gas that is likely to be produced from the North Sea has already been extracted, and the North Sea Transition Authority believes 218 million tonnes could be taken before 2050 from existing fields.
But Offshore Energies UK says analysis has claimed much more could be extracted.
Data show overall annual production dropping by 7 per cent a year.
Mr Burnham has previously insisted he will stick to Labour’s manifesto pledge not to issue new drilling licences, but he has also refused to deny reports that he is considering approving new production.
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