Comment on Offshore Petroleum Licencing Bill

Responding to this evening’s vote on the Offshore Petroleum Licencing Bill, Alasdair Johnstone from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit said: “Given the North Sea Oil and Gas Transition Authority itself concluded that legislation for annual licencing rounds was unnecessary, this has been at best a questionable use of parliamentary time.

"The North Sea is in terminal decline and this only serves to distract from actual solutions to securing the UK’s energy independence which lie in reducing our need for gas in the first place. That means building out renewables and insulating cold, damp homes, areas were the Government’s recent track record is questionable.”

ENDS

1. Previous ECIU analysis found that British fuel from new North Sea licences would make up less than 1% of a tank of petrol: https://eciu.net/media/press-r...
   
2. ECIU analysis also found that electric cars will boost UK energy security more than new North Sea oil licences: https://eciu.net/media/press-r...
   

For more information or for interview requests:

George Smeeton, Head of Communications, ECIU, Tel: 07894 571 153, email: george.smeeton@eciu.net