Writing for The Times, UK Labour leader Sir Kier Starmer has continued to soften his stance on North Sea oil and gas.
“Let me be clear: those who think we should somehow simply end domestic oil and gas production in Britain are wrong,” he said.
“Under Labour’s plans, they will play a crucial part in our energy mix for decades to come.”
Sir Keir said “we will not be revoking any licences” meaning those already granted will be honoured.
It comes after a piece – via a leak to the Sunday Times – last month, sent industry reeling as a Labour spokesperson said the party would prevent further licensing, instead using “existing oil and gas wells over the coming decades”.
Labour’s Scottish contingent was scrambling for a response, with leader Anas Sarwar saying it would “honour” new field approvals like Rosebank, should it go through under the current government.
Last month it was revealed that shadow Net Zero secretary Ed Miliband had been reprimanded for not focusing on jobs – the industry supports 200,000 across the UK – and that his mixed messaging undermined the policy.
“It is common sense one day from Keir Starmer which is trashed the next, presumably by Ed Miliband,” a source told The Times.
Unlike Rosebank, small tiebacks are the dominant source of new production for the mature North Sea basin, which could require new licensing.
It’s unclear how Labour proposes to use existing wells for “decades” in the North Sea, but Starmer is to launch the party’s election policy in Scotland next week.
He said in the Times he would “never leave oil and gas workers clinging on in the storm of a declining global market”.
Two firms with major presences in Aberdeen – Apache and Harbour Energy – have already cut jobs in the North Sea, both blaming the windfall tax as the main driver (despite scepticism on some fronts).
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