Kemi Badenoch pledges to make North Sea oil and gas ‘cornerstone’ of UK economy

A Conservative government would make North Sea oil and gas the “cornerstone” of the economy, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has pledged, hitting out at Labour for treating the sector as a “relic of the past”.

Speaking ahead of the Society of Petroleum Engineers Offshore Europe conference in Aberdeen, Badenoch said she wants to see as much oil and gas extracted from the UK Continental Shelf as possible and insisted her party is the only one “backing Britain’s North Sea industry”.

“Under the Conservatives, British energy will power British prosperity,” she said.

She added: “Labour sees the North Sea as a relic of the past; we see it as a cornerstone of Britain’s future. By restoring common sense to energy policy, we will unlock billions in revenue, secure our supply, and rebuild confidence in the UK economy.”

The Tories have pledged to end what they call “Labour’s ban” on new oil and gas licences, allowing the industry to carry out exploration work and extract oil and gas.

Badenoch also said her party would reverse a ban on providing “financial or promotional support for the fossil fuel energy sector overseas”, enabling work to promote the UK’s oil and gas sector and technology abroad.

In addition, the North Sea Transition Authority would be renamed the North Sea Authority and given a mandate to “maximise the extraction of our oil and gas”.

Badenoch criticised rivals, claiming Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage wants “part-nationalisation” of the sector, which she said would mean “the government and politicians running our oil and gas fields, taking us back to the bad old days of the 1970s when the government controlled British industries, running them into the ground”.

She also accused Labour energy secretary Ed Miliband of “strangling the North Sea in his dogmatic and ideological pursuit of net zero” by 2050, adding that he has been “refusing new oil and gas licences, and refusing to support UK companies who export oil and gas technologies abroad”.

In contrast, Badenoch said: “The Conservatives are focused on securing jobs, investment, and energy independence.

“The foundation of economic growth is cheap, abundant energy, and that must be our priority. That’s why it is time to overturn the absurd, anti-prosperity, anti-business, anti-oil and gas, anti-British ban on supporting UK companies who export their world-leading technologies overseas.”

She claimed the policy had “done nothing but see business destined for British businesses go to companies from overseas” and called it “a mad decision…And when I am prime minister, it will go.”

The comments came as David Whitehouse, chief executive of Offshore Energies UK, said the UK should produce its own oil and gas.

He said estimates suggest the country will need between 10 billion and 15 billion barrels of oil and gas between now and 2050, the target date for reaching net zero. But he added the UK is currently on course to produce less than four billion barrels from the North Sea.

“I believe in excess of six billion barrels is a realistic target for the country,” said Mr Whitehouse. “We just need the right policies to support that.

“And I think it is in our national interest that we put the policies in place that it becomes realistic, that we get back to delivering six to seven billion barrels of oil and gas.”

He continued: “Even though we have not seen the level of exploration that the basin needs, we are still seeing some fantastic discoveries in terms of gas discoveries. I think there is a real opportunity for the UK to produce much more of its own gas demand in the coming years if we had the right environment.”

Energy firms warned earlier this month that businesses could leave Scotland due to financial and political uncertainty surrounding the North Sea.

A recent survey by the industry body OEUK found 90% of firms asked said they “see more attractive opportunities to grow their business overseas due to uncertainty and a less positive business environment at home”.

The blame from a lot of companies in the sector is both on the windfall tax and the political decision not to grant new drilling licences in the North Sea in the future.

North East & Tayside

Energy firms could leave Scotland due to North Sea ‘uncertainty’

An industry body warned the transition to renewables will ‘take a lot longer’ than anticipated.

Gillian Martin, the Scottish Government’s climate action and energy secretary, said: “Tackling the climate emergency and reducing carbon emissions is both a moral imperative and, with a maturing North Sea basin, a sensible preparation for the future.

“The world is changing around us – quite literally in terms of global temperature rises. In response, too many are offering easy answers when what we need are the right answers.

“The North East of Scotland has long been a titan in the oil and gas industry, however we know that this basin is maturing.

“The responsible approach is to plan now for this eventuality, transitioning to new fuels and sustainable energy in a way that protects our energy security and Scotland’s highly skilled workforce in the North East.

“Through our initiatives such as the Just Transition Fund and the Energy Transition Fund, we have already invested £120m in the North East’s transition to net zero to help create green jobs, support innovation, and put Scotland at the forefront of the global renewable energy economy.”

Greenpeace UK said Badenoch’s extraction plans are “more likely to become the tombstone of our economy than the cornerstone”.

Ami McCarthy, Greenpeace UK’s head of politics, said: “The North Sea is in inexorable decline. Reserves are drying up and what’s left and untapped is barely enough to keep it on life support – lasting no more than a few months or years at current rates of consumption.

“Whatever the political rhetoric, the oil and gas is pretty much gone – and soon, so too will the jobs of thousands of workers.

“We can’t remain dependent on expensive overseas imports, continue fueling the climate change-induced wildfires, heatwaves and floods that are spiraling out of control, and watch an entire industry collapse with no plan for workers.

“We therefore must pivot the North Sea to something we have an abundance of, and something that will never run out – wind.”

The UK Government has been contacted for comment.