The Government has denied claims that energy secretary Ed Miliband has acted to ban oil and gas companies from new drilling in the North Sea.
And while the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said it would stick to Labour’s manifesto pledge to end the issuing of new licences to drill oil and gas fields, it has rubbished claims that applications already made would be scrapped.
Sources close DESNZ insisted claims there had been an immediate North Sea oil ban were “inaccurate”.
In a strongly worded statement, a government spokesman said a report suggesting the Labour energy secretary had intervened in the licensing process of the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) as “complete fabrication”.
A story in the Telegraph said Miliband had overruled officials at the regulator who were in the process of approving applications made by oil and gas firms to explore areas in the North Sea.
The Telegraph claimed Miliband had told NSTA “not to approve a new round of drilling that was slated for confirmation in the coming weeks” and to “block them all”.
The NSTA launched its 33rd North Sea licensing round in October 2022 during the brief reign of Prime Minister Liz Truss.
In early May, before the general election had been called, NSTA said that “a small number of remaining applications” had yet to be decided and that “a few more licences may be offered at a later date”.
The report added that the decision to stop the licences being awarded followed “crisis meetings” held between Miliband and his aides following a request for information about the last remaining applications.
In a statement, a DESNZ spokesperson said: “This piece is a complete fabrication – it invents meetings and decisions that have not taken place.
“As previously stated, we will not issue new licences to explore new fields. We will also not revoke existing oil and gas licences and will manage existing fields for the entirety of their lifespan.
“We are working with the North Sea Transition Authority to ensure a fair and balanced transition in the North Sea.”
A spokesperson for the NSTA said: “We follow the policy direction set by the government of the day.”
This story has been updated to include comment from DESNZ.
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