UK Government Rejects Call to Boost North Sea Oil and Gas Production

The UK government has rejected a call from the Offshore Energies UK trade body to boost North Sea oil and gas production, despite warnings that the UK will become increasingly reliant on imports at a time of rising global instability.

The industry group has urged the government to take action to slow the decline of the North Sea as a provider of energy, citing concerns that consumers will be left more exposed to global volatility and higher emissions if domestic production is not increased.

The warning comes as the war in the Middle East has triggered the biggest oil and gas supply shock in the history of the market, causing UK gas prices to more than double in under a month.

A government spokesperson said that issuing new licences to explore new fields cannot guarantee energy security and will not reduce bills, adding that the only way to truly protect against price spikes is to get off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets.

The decline of the North Sea oil and gas basin means that the UK's reliance on gas imports is likely to increase sharply from about 14% last year to more than a quarter of its gas supply by 2030, and almost half by 2035.

David Whitehouse, the chief executive of Offshore Energies UK, argued that energy security means backing homegrown oil and gas alongside renewables, and that a stable new tax regime for the industry is essential to reduce reliance on volatile imports and protect skilled jobs.