Labour has been urged to restart drilling in the North Sea amid deepening concerns over the cost of relying on foreign energy imports.
An independent review led by John Underhill, from the University of Aberdeen, says that the Government should revive oil exploration in British waters by issuing “bespoke exploration permits” for important projects.
It warns that the UK’s growing dependence on imports from Norway, the USA, Qatar and Algeria raises security, financial and environmental risks, “with some imported gas derived from fracked shale, a carbon-intensive process which is banned in the UK.”
The findings may carry significant weight in parts of government.
Mr Underhill, an influential geoscientist who has previously advised the North Sea Transition Authority, met Sir Keir Starmer and Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, shortly before last year’s election to discuss energy policy.
His report suggests that issuing permits around existing pipelines and fields would prevent Britain’s gas reserves being stranded in the North Sea because of premature pipeline closures. This, it says, would unlock “modest but high-impact discoveries”.
“The UK still relies heavily on oil and gas and without a clear and pragmatic plan, we risk replacing home-grown supply with higher-emission imports, something that is worse for the climate,” Mr Underhill said.
“A balanced, regulated approach can help the UK meet its climate commitments while ensuring energy resilience, economic stability, and smooth our transition to low-carbon renewables.”
Environmental campaigners have criticised the report. Tessa Khan, from campaign group Uplift, said: “Dressing up new oil and gas licences as ‘bespoke’ does not change the reality that this would breach Labour’s election promise to put an end to exploring for new oil and gas in the North Sea.”
A spokesman for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “We are committed to delivering the manifesto commitment to not issue new licences to explore new fields because they will not take a penny off bills, cannot make us energy secure and will only accelerate the worsening climate crisis.
“We are delivering a fair and orderly transition in the North Sea, with the biggest ever investment in offshore wind and two first of a kind carbon capture and storage clusters.”
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