We need our North Sea oil and gas to power the economy

'What is the point of these companies staying here if they're being taxed out of existence?'
PLEA TO PM We need our North Sea oil and gas to power the economy
THE future of the North Sea Oil industry hangs in the balance as the UK rushes toward Net Zero.
However experts insist that even with renewable energy sources, we will still need oil and gas for decades to come.
4
North Sea Oil platforms.
4
Mike Tholen, policy director of Offshore Energies UK.
4
Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour Prime Minister.
North Sea Oil provides £20 billion a year in economic value to the UK but the Westminster Government has closed its consultation on the industry's future while another on the energy windfall tax closes later this month.
Mike Tholen, policy director of Offshore Energies UK, pleads the case to help the our home grown oil industry before more jobs are lost forever.
THE Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged his government would support jobs and families. Scotland's offshore energy family is in urgent need of that support right now.
Last week alone hundreds of people were told they had lost their jobs.
Harbour Energy in Aberdeen was forced to cut 250 onshore roles – a quarter of its workforce.
Belmar Engineering, with 50 years of history supporting the UK global leading subsea industry, went into administration with the loss of more skilled jobs.
There was further bad news when one of the world's biggest wind farm companies Orsted halted work on the Hornsea 4 wind farm in the sea off Humberside.
They say they cannot make the sums add up.
Warning lights are flashing but there is another path to our energy future.
One that puts homegrown production at the heart of UK industry, supporting domestic oil and gas production alongside the build out of renewables.
We need new oil and gas licences to show firms and the world the North Sea is open for business. That will also unlock more cash for companies to plough into renewable energy projects.
We need to end the Energy Profits Levy - known as the windfall tax - which is driving away oil and gas producers that can't pay 78p in the pound in tax in a fiercely competitive world
What is the point of these companies staying here if they're being taxed out of existence?
Much better for them to move overseas. But that means the UK becomes even more dependent on imported energy which comes with a much higher carbon footprint.
As the Prime Minister has said, the UK will continue to use oil and gas for decades to come.
Our choice is whether we produce that oil and gas here or increasingly rely on imports.
In an unpredictable world that is not the place to be.
The North Sea remains a strategic national asset that has powered the UK economy and homes through oil and gas for half a century.
Last year the UK imported almost 40 per cent of its total energy even though we still have significant untapped oil and gas reserves in the North Sea.
Apart from these reserves we also have the second largest offshore wind capacity in the world and a pipeline of new opportunities.
We have the geology to store more carbon dioxide under the North Sea than the country has produced since the industrial revolution.
Building on these strengths, the UK is uniquely placed to support our energy future.
But this is not the experience of many people working in our offshore energy sector and across industrial Britain.
In recent weeks, my team and I have travelled across the country and spoken to hundreds of people in public meetings in Falkirk, Newcastle, and Humberside, as well as here in Aberdeen.
These are communities dependent on the offshore energy industry.
The message was clear - seeing UK industry shutting down to rely simply on imports is not the way forward.
Yes, people want to see action on climate change, but they want that done in a way that supports jobs and value in our economy. And in a way that drives energy prices down.
With practical policy, domestic energy production could support half of UK demand and add another £165billion of value to the UK economy, supporting jobs, and the very supply chain companies needed to build offshore wind, carbon storage, and hydrogen projects.
This is not a black and white debate on one form of energy versus another. We reject the argument that it's wind electricity or oil and gas. The people of our industry and the public deserve better than that.
We need all the homegrown energy we can get to keep the lights on, protect us from ever greater reliance on expensive imports and preserve the 200,000 plus jobs that depend on our sector.
Our industry provides £20 billion a year in economic value to the UK.
There are big decisions to be made by politicians. The UK Government just closed its consultation on building the North Sea's energy future. In a fortnight, another key consultation on the future of the Energy Profits Levy will close too.
The UK's new industrial strategy is due for publication later this Spring.
It is expected to focus on how better to manage energy production and use so industry has a fighting chance.
We are on the brink of critical decisions which will impact hundreds of thousands of lives.
For the future of our North Sea and for people and families across the UK, we must get this right.
4
North Sea Oil is worth £20 billion a year to the UK economy.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Daily Mirror

38 minutes ago

• Daily Mirror

Full list of requirements to be eligible for Warm Homes Discount

6 million households are due to receive the £150 discount this winter This winter, millions more individuals will be eligible for the Warm Home Discount, a £150 reduction on their electricity bills. This is due to new eligibility criteria released this month, although the benefit is only set to start being distributed around October. Eligibility for the benefit falls into one of two categories. Previously, these were:. ‌ People receiving the Guarantee element of Pension Credit - Core Group 1. People with low income and high energy costs - Core Group 2. People in Scotland identified by their supplier as at risk of fuel poverty - Broader Group. ‌ However, the recent update has made it so that people in core group 2 no longer need to have high energy costs to qualify. Simply claiming one of the qualifying benefits will be enough to receive the discount this winter. The current full list of qualifying benefits includes: Housing Benefit. Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA). Income Support. The 'Savings Credit' part of Pension Credit. Universal Credit. If you receive Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit, you may also be eligible, provided your household income falls below a certain threshold. ‌ To qualify, the person receiving the qualifying benefit must be named on the energy bill. The money is not paid to you like cash in hand; instead, it is applied to your bill by your electricity supplier. If you're on a prepayment meter, you might find a voucher arriving via post or email instead. Those residing in Scotland are encouraged to get in touch with their energy supplier if they think they may qualify under the core or broader groups. Official statistics suggest that over 6 million households will benefit from the scheme this year, marking an increase of 2.7 million. Among these, 900,000 are families with children and 1.8 million are homes experiencing fuel poverty. ‌ Prime Minister Keir Starmer commented: "I know families are still struggling with the cost of living, and I know the fear that comes with not being able to afford your next bill. "Providing security and peace of mind for working people is deeply personal to me as Prime Minister and foundational for the Plan for Change. "I have no doubt that, like rolling out free school meals, breakfast clubs and childcare support, extending this £150 energy bills support to millions more families will make a real difference." While this is a major update for the seasonal benefit. A bigger announcement is expected later this year as the scheme in its current form expires in March 2026, although it has been extended in the past.

Powys County Times

an hour ago

• Powys County Times

Creative industries to get £380m boost ahead of industrial strategy launch

Britain's film, music and video game industries are set to receive millions of pounds of investment as the Government seeks to ensure the UK's place as a creative superpower. The investment, announced by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, will see £380 million spent on a range of projects intended to double private investment in the creative industries. Ms Nandy said the investment would 'boost regional growth, stimulate private investment, and create thousands more high-quality jobs'. The figure includes £25 million for research into cutting-edge technologies such as the virtual avatars used in Abba Voyage, and £75 million to support the film industry. It will also see £30 million put towards backing start-up video games companies – an industry worth billions of pounds to the UK – and another £30 million for the music industry, including an increase in funding for grassroots venues. Another £150 million will be split between the mayors of Manchester, Liverpool, the West Midlands, West Yorkshire, the North East and the West of England to support creative businesses in their regions. The announcement comes as the Government prepares to publish its industrial strategy next week, billed as a 10-year, multibillion-pound plan to back certain sectors and secure growth for the UK economy. The creative industries are set to be one of the winners, with a plan for the sector expected to be published alongside the wider industrial strategy. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: 'The UK's creative industries are world-leading and have a huge cultural impact globally, which is why we're championing them at home and abroad as a key growth sector in our modern industrial strategy.' But earlier this month, the Government also rejected a planning application for a major new film studio near Holyport, in Berkshire, over its impact on the green belt. The £380 million has been welcomed by the industry, with the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (Bectu) saying it was a 'show of commitment to the sector'. But Bectu chief Philippa Childs said creative workers would also be looking for 'sustained support' from the Government as the sector 'recovers from a series of external shocks'. Recent years have seen the sector rocked by Covid, the cost-of-living crisis and concerns about the impact of AI and Donald Trump's threat to impose tariffs on films made outside the US. Conservative shadow culture secretary Stuart Andrew accused Labour of threatening the 'very survival' of the creative industries. He said: 'From their national insurance jobs tax to their business rates hike, Labour are pushing creative businesses to the brink, and we now know that Rachel Reeves has a secret plan to raise taxes – meaning things will only get worse. 'Labour must recognise that their economic mismanagement is dealing a devasting blow to the sector.'

North Wales Chronicle

2 hours ago

• North Wales Chronicle

Opponents of assisted dying vow to fight on as MPs back Bill

Ms Leadbeater's Bill passed what could be its final Commons hurdle by 23 votes, down from the majority of 55 it secured when MPs first voted on it in November. The Spen Valley MP declared 'thank goodness' after the result while Rebecca Wilcox, daughter of campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen, said it was 'wonderful' the result had come ahead of her mother's birthday. But opponents vowed to fight on against what they called a 'deeply flawed Bill'. A group of 27 Labour MPs who voted against the legislation said: 'We were elected to represent both of those groups and are still deeply concerned about the risks in this Bill of coercion of the old and discrimination against the disabled, people with anorexia and black, Asian and minority ethnic people, who we know do not receive equitable health care. 'As the Bill moves to the House of Lords it must receive the scrutiny that it needs. Not about the principles of assisted dying but its application in this deeply flawed Bill.' But Ms Leadbeater told the PA news agency she hoped there would be no 'funny games' in the Lords, as her Bill faces further tough hurdles in the upper chamber. She added: 'I would be upset to think that anybody was playing games with such an important and such an emotional issue.' Meanwhile, one of the leading opponents of the Bill, Conservative Danny Kruger, described its supporters as 'enemies', saying he felt 'like Evelyn Waugh at the time of the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939'. In a series of tweets on Friday night, the East Wiltshire MP accused assisted dying campaigners of being 'militant anti-Christians' who had failed to 'engage with the detail of the Bill'. He added: 'It's the revenge of the middle-aged against their dependents.' Ms Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End Of Life) Bill will now proceed to the House of Lords, where it will undergo further scrutiny before becoming law, should peers decide to back the legislation. But some peers have already spoken out against the legislation, with the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, saying they 'must oppose' the Bill as 'unworkable and unsafe'.