The newly appointed UK Energy Minister has told oil and gas leaders they have the ‘full support’ of the UK Government in maximising the economic opportunity in the North Sea.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Industry & Energy Richard Harrington made the comments during his first visit to Aberdeen in his new ministerial post.
Mr Harrington met and addressed oil and gas industry leaders at the Maximising Economic Recovery (MER) Forum and the Oil and Gas Joint Council as well as attending meetings on the Industrial Strategy’s role for supporting the sector and the prospect of Remote Islands Wind.
The minister also listened to proposals from industry for an ambitious and deliverable oil and gas Sector Deal under the Industrial Strategy.
He said: “These are challenging but exciting times with new opportunities in North Sea oil and gas.
“We are working with the sector to build on the £2.3bn worth of UK Government support through our modern Industrial Strategy.
“I want to make it clear that the industry has full support of the UK Government, and that we are continuing to create the right environment though a stable and supportive package to allow business, enterprise and jobs to flourish.”
Last month the North Sea regulator Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) opened its 30th Offshore Licensing Round, making awards to companies that promise to maximise economic recovery of the UK’s oil and gas resources.
This morning Total announced that it has started-up production from the Edradour and Glenlivet fields off Shetland.
Delivered ahead of schedule and under budget these projects will bring additional production capacity of up to 56,000 barrels of oil.
UK Government Minister, Lord Duncan, was also present.
He added: “In my role as UK Government minister for Scotland I will continue to fight to protect Scotland’s world class oil and gas industry. We’ve supported Aberdeen through £125m investment in the City and Region Deal, which was key to setting up the innovative Oil & Gas Technology centre I saw today.
“The oil and gas industry can rest assured that the UK Government will continue to do everything we can to support this critical sector of the Scottish and British economy.”
Both industry body Oil and Gas UK and the Oil and Gas Authority welcomed the government’s continued support.
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