A “colossal” £200bn could be spent in the UK North Sea by 2030, but about half of that is in investment doldrums over political uncertainty.
OEUK chief executive David Whitehouse sits down with the Energy Voice Out Loud podcast to discuss the trade body’s latest economic report on what that prize looks like, and the various blockages currently in place.
The UK needs to become a globally attractive place to do business – and if investment isn’t made then the UK will be importing 80% of its energy by the end of the decade, argues the trade body.
Mr Whitehouse says: “We have 280 fields in the North Sea, and about 150-plus will come to a natural cessation of production before the end of the decade; we need to replace them.
“We are still in an energy crisis, we only produce about half of the oil and gas that we need. We need those new energy licences
“So it’s clear to me the argument for energy security, for jobs, but also for our climate change ambitions, it’s critical we get them and we need to boost investor confidence.”
© Supplied by Callum Main / DCTFor oil and gas – the windfall tax is “biting”, but it goes beyond that; grid connection and cost inflation for offshore wind, and the need for business model clarity on CCS are also creating barriers.
Getting it right means jobs, supply chain capability and hitting climate change ambitions, according to OEUK.
“We are seeing projects we need to see unblocked – tell you what, we’re going to get these things unblocked,” says Whitehouse.
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