On Friday Graham Stuart announced he was stepping down from government as Justin Tomlinson replaced him as the UK’s energy minister. But who is Justin Tomlinson?
The MP for North Swindon held the role of Minister of State in the Department for Work and Pensions between April 2019 and September 2021.
He has been elected in his constituency four times and has also been the parliamentary under-secretary in the Department for Work and Pensions.
Mr Stuart’s successor has experience with business having previously managed a nightclub in Swindon called Eros before owning and running TB Marketing, a marketing agency based in Stratton.
Mr Tomlinson is now the 11th person to take on the brief within the last 10 years.
With little experience dealing with the UK energy sector, the new minister will have a lot to learn as oil and gas becomes a political hot potato in the UK’s looming general election.
Support for annual North Sea licencing rounds
In the last two readings of the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, the incoming energy minister has voted in favour of the proposed law.
The Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill seeks to amend the Petroleum Act 1998, adding a requirement for the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) to hold annual oil and gas licensing rounds subject to two new tests.
The first is a “carbon intensity test”, which would be met if the carbon intensity of produced domestic gas is lower than the carbon intensity of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imported into the UK during the three years prior.
The second is a “net importer test”, which requires that domestic crude, gas and NGL production is expected to be below demand for each calendar year in question.
The oil and gas industry has supported this bill with the chief executive of trade body Offshore Energies UK David Whitehouse previously saying that “the UK needs the churn of new licences to manage production decline in line with our maturing basin.”
He added: “While we continue to use oil and gas, we should prioritise our homegrown production to support our energy security, our economy, our jobs, and our world class supply chain that will be the foundation of our low carbon future.”
However, the bill has had its detractors with some arguing that the proposed tests “appear to override” the ‘climate compatibility checkpoint’ tests enacted in 2022.
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