{"id":416793,"date":"2025-12-10T08:43:54","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T07:43:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=416793"},"modified":"2025-12-10T08:43:56","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T07:43:56","slug":"the-north-sea-strategy-is-a-roadmap-to-ruin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=416793","title":{"rendered":"The North Sea Strategy is a Roadmap to Ruin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"An<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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

The UK\u2019s North Sea oil and gas industry has powered the nation for over 50 years. Yet the Government\u2019s decision in the November Budget to maintain the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) at 78% threatened that resource in minutes. KeyfactsEnergy<\/a> has the story.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As domestic production falters under restrictive licensing policies and the damaging EPL, thousands of skilled workers are losing jobs, public revenues are shrinking, and the energy security is becoming alarmingly fragile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The North Sea Transition Authority\u2019s (NSTA) revised forecasts (Nov 2025) speak volumes: predicted 2030 output of oil and gas is 33m tonnes (mtoe), down from 74m tonnes (mtoe) in 2022. That\u2019s a halving of production in only eight years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Government is leading by ideology without debate or logic. Restoring North Sea investment does not mean abandoning climate commitments; it is necessary to safeguard jobs, stabilise the economy, and maintain a bridge to a cleaner energy future. How can businesses invest in that future if they are being driven to ruin?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ignoring these realities risks further loss of industry expertise and surrendering Britain\u2019s energy independence to volatile global markets, with no environmental gain, as we continue to import oil and gas from overseas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UK domestic production is critical – debunking the ‘Price Taker\u2019 myth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opponents of new licensing in the North Sea claim that the UK is merely a “price taker”, suggesting that UK domestic production cannot meaningfully affect prices or security. This is a short-sighted and dangerously narrow view of energy economics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domestic production reduces exposure to global supply shocks, transport bottlenecks and hostile suppliers \u2013 Germany\u2019s reliance on Russian gas should be a warning enough. It insulates the UK against price volatility and strengthens its international bargaining power. The European scramble for LNG cargoes in 2022 after Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine underscores that energy independence is a matter of national security.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also keeps profits, jobs, and taxes in Britain. And it\u2019s greener: the NSTA itself confirmed that imported gas carries more than twice the carbon footprint of UK-produced gas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have a wealth of resources on our doorstep. Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) estimates up to 7.5 billion barrels of oil and gas remain untapped in UK waters, worth \u00a3165 billion to our economy. Shutting this down whilst relying on more expensive, higher-carbon imports is economic and environmental lunacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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

The UK\u2019s North Sea oil and gas industry has powered the nation for over 50 years. Yet the Government\u2019s decision in the November Budget to maintain the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) at 78% threatened that resource in minutes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":416796,"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":"Discover how the UK's North Sea oil and gas industry faces peril from the Energy Profits Levy, impacting jobs and energy security.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"UK North Sea Oil: Protecting Jobs and Energy Security","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":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvY2xpbWF0ZS1zY2llbmNlLnByZXNzXC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDI1XC8xMlwvMEFRT01Nd3ZFM2Z3SmNKX0F5d1dYbFFzZzZwQW9uYUdyaFd2Ny02UHR1X2lqOWpmNGRyR0FaMFhHaVU3VGM1MVQ2d0MyUjhDMnNTRk10WW13SENLM042Sms4c2hNVllJQ051S053NVFDdV9VZGExb1BkYVpjcGg0QkpHZURQQks1a2pBdmM4YURQTXp2ZXpPSmdHNllYeVNWV2txQlJRLTEtMTAyNHgxMDI0LmpwZWciLCJ0eHQiOiJUaGUgTm9ydGggU2VhIFN0cmF0ZWd5IGlzIGEgUm9hZG1hcCB0byBSdWluIiwidGVtcGxhdGUiOiJoaWdod2F5IiwiZm9udCI6IiIsImJsb2dfaWQiOjE1NTgxMjQ0OX0.HxhVTHgwE1RELVS3iX464CHZLsXcPnEa0S38Od0Ko68MQ"},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691819522,691818610,691840080,691821448,691819148,691818248],"class_list":{"0":"post-416793","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-carbon-footprint","9":"tag-north-sea","10":"tag-north-sea-transition-authoritys-nsta","11":"tag-offshore-energies-uk-oeuk","12":"tag-oil-and-gas","13":"tag-uk","15":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0AQOMMwvE3fwJcJ_AywWXlQsg6pAonaGrhWv7-6Ptu_ij9jf4drGAZ0XGiU7Tc51T6wC2R8C2sSFMtYmwHCK3N6Jk8shMVYICNuKNw5QCu_Uda1oPdaZcph4BJGeDPBK5kjAvc8aDPMzvezOJgG6YXySVWkqBRQ-1.jpeg?fit=1280%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1Kqt","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":207449,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=207449","url_meta":{"origin":416793,"position":0},"title":"The Future for Oil and Gas in the UK","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"06\/07\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"You could be forgiven for thinking that oil and gas have no future in the UK, given recent name changes. 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globally) or long-term supply. 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