UK must back North Sea oil and gas drilling, says trade body

UK must back North Sea oil and gas drilling, says trade body 2 hours ago Share Save Dearbail Jordan , Senior business reporter and Daniel Thomas , Senior business reporter Share Save The offshore energy industry has warned that the UK "urgently" needs to produce its own oil and gas and called for the government to support North Sea exploration. Offshore Energies UK said without more domestic production, the country risks becoming reliant on imports "at a time of rising global instability". Oil and gas prices have spiked since the US-Israel war with Iran began and Tehran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global crude supplies. The Labour government has banned new licences for new oil and gas fields in the North Sea and a government spokesperson said issuing exploration permits "cannot give us energy security and will not take a penny off bills". It added: "Regardless of where it comes from, oil and gas is sold on international markets, which set the price for British billpayers, making us a price taker." Energy Secretary Ed Miliband recently told the BBC that the lesson from the current crisis - which has seen the oil price rise by more than 30% - is "we need home-grown, clean power that we control". But OEUK said it was "not an either renewables or oil and gas scenario". In a report out on Tuesday, it claims oil and gas still supplies around 75% of the UK's energy needs and will meet around a fifth of demand by 2050. It also said that demand was rapidly increasing as domestic production declined, leaving the public vulnerable to potential price shocks. "Recent events have shown how quickly energy markets can tighten and how easily cargoes can be diverted away from the UK when other buyers bid higher," said OEUK chief executive David Whitehouse. "We urgently need greater supplies of secure, domestically produced energy including oil and gas, which will remain a critical part of the UK energy system and economy for decades." The industry group sai...