Oil drilling plans in the North Sea strengthened by Kemi Badenoch's reaffirmation of commitments

In a significant shift from previous Conservative governments, Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party leader, has announced plans to make North Sea oil a cornerstone of the UK's economy. This move, revealed in a speech at the Society of Petroleum Engineers Offshore Europe Conference in Scotland, aims to maximise the extraction of oil and gas from the North Sea.

Badenoch's energy policy represents a departure from the push for net zero and taxing energy giants' profits. To achieve this, she plans to rename the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) to the North Sea Authority and mandate it to focus on maximising extraction.

The NSTA, in its recent report, has highlighted the North Sea oil and gas industry's success in reducing emissions. Emissions have fallen for five consecutive years, with a decrease of over a third between 2018 and 2024. Hedvig Ljungerud, the director of strategy at the NSTA, commended the industry for bringing down production emissions by more than a third in six years, demonstrating that the industry has been getting a lot right.

David Whitehouse, the boss of the industry body Offshore Energies UK, echoed this sentiment, stating that the sector's commitments to reduce carbon emissions by half by 2030 are taken seriously.

However, the NSTA's report also warns that if operators lose focus on reducing emissions, UK production will become less clean and less competitive compared to imports over time. Badenoch's plans, therefore, come with a caveat: top businesses will have to make "serious investments" to reduce emissions by 90 per cent in the next 15 years.

Badenoch's energy policy also includes ending the ban on oil and gas licences and allowing the UK government to promote the energy sector through its finance and trade networks.

Meanwhile, the Labour government is considering opening the North Sea to oil drilling. Ed Miliband, a Labour member, has been reported to be changing rules that could see Equinor's Rosebank oil field and Shell's Jackdaw gas field projects go ahead. However, Badenoch has accused the Labour government of failing to make the most of oil and gas fields' potential.

On the other hand, Reform UK has pledged to end net zero commitments and all related subsidies for the energy sector. Badenoch has also accused Reform UK of pushing for the "part-nationalisation" of the energy sector.

Badenoch's speech will unveil a wider strategy to defend UK energy companies and end policies which hamper the sector's growth. However, she has stated that achieving net zero by 2050 would be "impossible".

This shift in energy policy is expected to spark debate and controversy, with implications for the UK's commitment to reducing carbon emissions and its reliance on fossil fuels.

Oil drilling plans in the North Sea strengthened by Kemi Badenoch's reaffirmation of commitments