{"id":402521,"date":"2025-09-16T08:02:54","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T06:02:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=402521"},"modified":"2025-09-16T08:03:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T06:03:14","slug":"how-ed-miliband-cost-britain-one-billion-barrels-of-north-sea-oil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=402521","title":{"rendered":"How Ed Miliband cost Britain one billion barrels of North Sea oil"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Energy Secretary\u2019s \u2018hostile\u2019 drilling policies risk leaving the UK more reliant on imports<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Ed Miliband, it\u2019s a truly awkward moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His own statisticians have released data showing that Britain\u2019s North Sea will produce a billion barrels of oil and gas fewer than expected between now and 2050 \u2013 with analysts linking the downgrade to Labour\u2019s imposition of 78pc taxes and a\u00a0ban on new drilling<\/a>. The Telegraph<\/a> has the story.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The assessment, by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), the government regulator that reports to Mr Miliband, suggests the UK will have to import a far higher proportion<\/a> of its oil and gas over the next 25 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a separate analysis, the accelerated decline of the North Sea could see half the 200,000 jobs it supports destroyed by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of those will be in Scotland<\/a>, where elections due next year make such potential losses seriously risky for Labour\u2019s prospects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have already seen a 10pc reduction in output \u2013 equating to 100,000 barrels of oil a day, replaced by imports,\u201d said Chris Wheaton, an energy analyst with investment bank Stifel. \u201cThis will increase the longer the windfall tax stays in place<\/a> \u2013 reaching 20pc below previous forecasts by 2030.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The downgrade in North Sea output emerges from comparing the production projections published by the NSTA in 2023 \u2013 before the election \u2013 with the latest versions, just published.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In autumn 2023, the NSTA predicted the UK would produce oil and gas equivalent to 681 million tonnes of oil between 2025 and 2050.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the latest equivalent data, this has now been slashed to 557 million tonnes. The \u201clost\u201d 124 million tonnes equates to a billion barrels of oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full story here<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Ed Miliband, it\u2019s a truly awkward moment.<\/p>\n

His own statisticians have released data showing that Britain\u2019s North Sea will produce a billion barrels of oil and gas fewer than expected between now and 2050 \u2013 with analysts linking the downgrade to Labour\u2019s imposition of 78pc taxes and a\u00a0ban on new drilling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":402524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"Explore how Energy Secretary Ed Miliband's drilling policies may lead the UK to increased energy imports and job losses in the North Sea.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"UK Oil Output Set to Plummet: Miliband's Drilling Policies Under Fire","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691829913,691831484,691818154,691819807,691819148],"class_list":{"0":"post-402521","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-energy-industry","9":"tag-energy-secretary-ed-miliband","10":"tag-net-zero","11":"tag-north-sea-oil","12":"tag-oil-and-gas","14":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0AQNFe22cLcy4vvsiflRwz-QuWoAx2srDMxkjlEV5In7DpggL0p_Wctxk-yQhHgDaQGR5UeKd9OjtkPsEWZV-u2tBYv3nm6cQfnvZJ7ipYqtv6uKu5LTv3sy7wailQvEAwvhS40k5T4htVBKN_lDnz5CglpkZLA-1.jpeg?fit=1280%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1GIh","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":404035,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=404035","url_meta":{"origin":402521,"position":0},"title":"North Sea \u2018has three times more oil and gas\u2019 than Government claims","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"22\/09\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Britain\u2019s North Sea could yield up to three times more oil and gas than the Government has suggested, leading analysts have found.","rel":"","context":"In \"Energy Secretary Ed Miliband\"","block_context":{"text":"Energy Secretary Ed Miliband","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=energy-secretary-ed-miliband"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0AQOMMwvE3fwJcJ_AywWXlQsg6pAonaGrhWv7-6Ptu_ij9jf4drGAZ0XGiU7Tc51T6wC2R8C2sSFMtYmwHCK3N6Jk8shMVYICNuKNw5QCu_Uda1oPdaZcph4BJGeDPBK5kjAvc8aDPMzvezOJgG6YXySVWkqBRQ-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0AQOMMwvE3fwJcJ_AywWXlQsg6pAonaGrhWv7-6Ptu_ij9jf4drGAZ0XGiU7Tc51T6wC2R8C2sSFMtYmwHCK3N6Jk8shMVYICNuKNw5QCu_Uda1oPdaZcph4BJGeDPBK5kjAvc8aDPMzvezOJgG6YXySVWkqBRQ-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0AQOMMwvE3fwJcJ_AywWXlQsg6pAonaGrhWv7-6Ptu_ij9jf4drGAZ0XGiU7Tc51T6wC2R8C2sSFMtYmwHCK3N6Jk8shMVYICNuKNw5QCu_Uda1oPdaZcph4BJGeDPBK5kjAvc8aDPMzvezOJgG6YXySVWkqBRQ-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0AQOMMwvE3fwJcJ_AywWXlQsg6pAonaGrhWv7-6Ptu_ij9jf4drGAZ0XGiU7Tc51T6wC2R8C2sSFMtYmwHCK3N6Jk8shMVYICNuKNw5QCu_Uda1oPdaZcph4BJGeDPBK5kjAvc8aDPMzvezOJgG6YXySVWkqBRQ-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0AQOMMwvE3fwJcJ_AywWXlQsg6pAonaGrhWv7-6Ptu_ij9jf4drGAZ0XGiU7Tc51T6wC2R8C2sSFMtYmwHCK3N6Jk8shMVYICNuKNw5QCu_Uda1oPdaZcph4BJGeDPBK5kjAvc8aDPMzvezOJgG6YXySVWkqBRQ-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":433224,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=433224","url_meta":{"origin":402521,"position":1},"title":"Britain’s Biggest Untapped Oil Field Set for Autumn Startup \u2014 If Ed Miliband Gives the Green Light","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"22\/03\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Rosebank oil field is the UK's largest undeveloped oil and gas project in the North Sea, located about 60 miles west of the Shetland Islands. 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He frames the policy as essential for the \u201cjust transition,\u201d arguing excessive fossil fuel dependence is the real long-term security risk. 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