Energy ministers face Commons pressure to rule on North Sea oil and gas drilling

As ministers face pressure to approve two oil and gas drilling projects in the North Sea – the Rosebank oil field and Jackdaw gas field – Tessa Khan, executive director at Uplift, argues that new drilling is “profoundly irresponsible.”

She said: “The Conservative Party’s Trumpian obsession with oil and gas is blinding them to the reality of what everyone else can now see – we urgently need to change course on energy.

“More North Sea drilling will do nothing to cut our energy bills. Most of what’s left is oil, the vast majority of which we export. New drilling just means more profits for oil and gas companies while making the unfolding climate crisis even worse. That is profoundly irresponsible.

“The Conservatives are making false claims – the huge Rosebank oil field, which is overwhelmingly oil destined for international markets, will do almost nothing to displace imports.

“New drilling will also do nothing to stem the decline in oil and gas jobs, which have more than halved in the past decade under Conservative governments – despite new licensing and field approvals – as the basin has declined.

“After 50 years of drilling, the UK has now burned most of its gas and Jackdaw, a relatively small gas field, would – optimistically and assuming none of its gas is exported – provide just two per cent of UK gas demand over its roughly 10 year lifetime.

“It is deeply worrying that the shadow energy secretary continues to peddle these myths. To pretend that new oil and gas is a path to growth, energy security and secure jobs is a denial of the facts and a betrayal of workers.

“The science is clear – the world already has far more oil and gas than can ever be safely burned if we are to limit global warming. A new oil field on Rosebank’s scale is fundamentally incompatible with a safe climate.

“And when the impacts of climate change are escalating – whether that’s our farmers struggling to grow food in drought or the devastating floods in Nepal – it is irresponsible in the extreme.

“This government must not cave into the demands of the oil industry and allow Rosebank.

“Genuine reindustrialisation requires the UK and Scottish governments to work together and step in with a coherent transition plan and public investment in homegrown renewable energy, that will provide good jobs, lower bills and power the UK for decades to come.”