New North Sea drilling a temporary fix, climate groups argue

Climate groups have slated proposals for new North Sea oil and gas developments, arguing that Britain’s reserves will not last forever.

Lobby group Uplift claimed further drilling in the North Sea would meet 6% of the UK’s demand between 2024 to 2050 before running out.

“It is pure fantasy to think that the North Sea can somehow satisfy the UK’s demand,” Uplift executive director Tessa Khan said, disputing government aims of bolstering energy security.

“There just isn’t that much gas left in UK waters,” she claimed, as regulators mull approving new drilling by Equinor and Ithaca Energy PLC (LSE:ITH) at the Rosebank oilfield to the west of the Shetland Isles.

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) had suggested in June that further production could reduce reliance on more costly and environmentally harmful imports.

Gas imports to the UK usually have to be liquified in an energy-intensive process that sees emissions increase tenfold, according to Rystad Energy.

This means piped gas is indeed the more environmentally friendly option if the fuel has to be burned - the stark case in the UK where roughly three-quarters of homes rely on it for heating, as per consensus data.

As a result, net zero minister Graham Stuart dubbed oil and gas as “essential […] for years to come” last month.

Khan called on more to be done in reducing the reliance placed on fossil fuels in UK homes arguing imports may well have to increase in the future to meet demand.

“This is a fact that the government is either ignorant of [or] refusing to confront,” she said.

A government spokesperson hit back explaining that the transition “cannot happen overnight," pointing to the “lower carbon footprint” of domestically sourced gas.

The NTSA is yet to confirm awards from the UK’s latest oil and gas licensing round meanwhile, having labelled domestic oil and gas as key for “an orderly transition”.

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