The £50bn prize that awaits Andy Burnham if he makes the right call over oil and gas – David Whitehouse
With about 200,000 jobs supported by the oil and gas industry, many people’s livelihoods depend on getting the energy transition right
At our Westminster energy debate this week, Nicola Sturgeon warned that North Sea workers risk being misled about their future. She is right that workers deserve honesty. But from my experience, our North Sea workers are more knowledgeable and informed about the realities of the energy transition than almost anyone.
Unprecedented heatwaves are reminding us that climate change is not a future threat but a present reality. The UK needs both urgency and realism in its energy policy. That means accelerating renewable energy and also being honest about today’s energy system.
The reality is that oil and gas still provide around 75 per cent of the UK’s energy, keeping our cars moving, planes flying, homes warm and industries running. If we do not produce this oil and gas here with lower emissions, we do not end demand. It just means more imported oil and gas – often with a higher carbon footprint, while more jobs, taxes and industrial value are shifted overseas.
Building tomorrow’s energy system
Too much of this debate is boiled into binary choices: oil and gas versus renewables, clean jobs versus dirty jobs, economic growth versus climate action. These are false choices. The reality is more complex.
North Sea workers understand that. They know oil and gas production will not continue forever, and many are already helping to build offshore wind, carbon capture and hydrogen.
The mistake is to assume that supporting the North Sea today and building tomorrow’s energy system are competing objectives. In fact, one helps make the other possible.
Recognising that production will decline is very different from choosing policies that accelerate that decline. Continued investment retains the people, companies and skills needed for the transition.
Thousands of jobs
That is why the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields matter. Nobody is claiming that these two projects alone will secure the North Sea’s future, but nor should their contribution be dismissed. Together they represent £10.8 billion of private investment and will support thousands of jobs.
While no single project can secure Britain’s energy supply, what matters is the cumulative impact of continued investment. With the right conditions, more than 100 projects could unlock around £50bn of investment over the coming decade, helping Britain meet more of its energy needs from domestic production.
Andy Burnham’s government can help by approving viable projects and bringing forward the permanent replacement for the Energy Profits Levy to 2027, giving companies confidence to invest while ensuring that taxpayers benefit when prices are high.
So many people’s livelihoods depend on getting this right. Around 200,000 jobs across Britain are supported by the oil and gas industry alone. From Shetland to Southampton, they help keep our homes warm, our lights on and our industries running.
Promises of new jobs continue while offshore redundancies mount, refineries close, and opportunities go overseas. Done well, the transition should reindustrialise our communities while retaining the skills and businesses we have.
We should learn from the mistakes of the past. It is wrong to accelerate the loss of investment and jobs before new industries are ready.
Nicola Sturgeon has engaged in a crucial debate. North Sea workers are not asking politicians to preserve the past: they are asking for the chance to build the future. We should listen to them.
David Whitehouse is chief executive of Offshore Energies UK
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