First Minister Humza Yousaf has slammed the UK Government’s plan to introduce new North Sea licences in coming weeks.
Announced in July, Rishi Sunak said at least 100 new licences would be issued, the first of which were dished out in October.
Dozens more are expected to be handed out by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) in the weeks ahead as part of its next tranche of awards in the 33rd licensing round.
Asked about the plans during a trip to Aberdeen this week, Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf voiced his opposition.
“In terms of future licences, the UK Government haven’t listened to us around strengthening climate compatibility checkpoints and testing – that is disappointing.
“From the UK Government’s announcement of wanting to introduce 100 new oil and gas licences that they made last year, that, to me, is a demonstration that they’re not really serious about tackling the climate crisis.”
The NSTA offered 27 new licences as part of the first tranche of 33rd round awards in October.
It is soon expected to issue up to 88 more as part of the next tranche.
That comes as the UK Government legislates for annual rounds, despite opposition from politicians, climate groups and others, while the NSTA itself said the move was not necessary.
Mr Yousaf said the oil and gas sector is an important industry, and will be so for years to come, while the Scottish Government supports a phased transition, pointing to the work of the £500m Just Transition Fund.
“We have to pivot from fossil fuels, we know it will take many, many years to move from fossil fuels to green technologies.”
Meeting with oil and energy bosses
Mr Yousaf, who was in Aberdeen as part of the launch of Scottish Enterprise’s new strategy, made time to meet with top bosses of Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) on Monday.
Among them was the UK North Sea heads of Shell, BP, TotalEnergies and Harbour Energy, among others, setting out the case for a “homegrown energy transition”.
It also comes ahead of the Scottish Government’s final Energy and Just Transition Strategy to be published this year.
OEUK CEO David Whitehouse said: “The session showed the First Minister that the offshore energies industry is a reliable and responsible partner to government.
“It is serious about the energy transition and today’s North Sea is changing to get to net zero and take global opportunities. Offshore energy, in particular its supply chain, is increasingly integrated and the workforce and skills are highly transferable.”
Following the meeting, Mr Yousaf said: “I fully appreciate just how important the North East is for our energy sector and how important the sector is for Scotland’s transition to net zero. That is why I value opportunities like this to discuss with industry the detail of their planning to help deliver that transition in a way that is fair and just.
“It is only by working together that the Scottish Government and industry can redefine the role of a global energy hub and ensure that offshore energy continues to be an attractive career for the current workforce and next generation of engineers and innovators.”
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