<\/p>\n
The development of major new oil fields in the North Sea will do little to change Britain’s dependence on gas imports, research has shown.<\/p>\n
The Jacques Dawes field, one of the North Sea’s largest undeveloped gas fields, will replace just 2% of the UK’s current gas imports, leaving the UK almost entirely reliant on supplies from Norway and several other sources.<\/p>\n
The Rosebank field is also located in Scottish waters, but it mainly contains oil and only accounts for around 1% of the UK’s gas imports.<\/p>\n
Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift, a campaign group that compiles data from public sources, said: “New fields like Jackdaw and Rosebank will do little to increase UK gas production. Even in the most optimistic scenario, assuming no gas is exported, Jackdaw will only supply 2% of UK demand over its nine- to 12-year lifespan.”<\/p>\n
Authorities such as the UK Energy Research Center have already shown that new drilling will not reduce oil and gas prices or improve the UK’s energy security. It is also unlikely to create permanent jobs or significant new tax revenue, with 90% of Britain’s North Sea oil and gas already burned and the industry in irreversible decline. Companies are also demanding tax breaks to explore new areas that are more difficult to access than existing sources of supply.<\/p>\n
But Ed Miliband, the secretary of state for energy security and net zero, is under pressure from the fossil fuel industry, Nigel Farage’s UK Reform Party, some trade unions and the Conservative Party to give Jackdaw and Rosebank the green light. Jackdaw and Rosebank are not subject to the ban on new licenses for North Sea drilling, as their applications were already in the system when Labor came to power.<\/p>\n
Finance Minister Rachel Reeves has previously spoken in favor of drilling, but at the recent G7 energy meeting she emphasized renewable energy as a solution to the recurring oil crisis.<\/p>\n
The Guardian understands that Miliband has not yet made a decision in either area and is still considering the potential implications. The UK is also likely to take part in a major climate change conference in Colombia later this month, where governments will launch plans to phase out fossil fuels.<\/p>\n
Jackdaw field owner Adura Energy has been asked by the North Sea regulator to answer new questions related to its license application, including on greenhouse gas emissions. This process could take weeks, if not longer, and no immediate decisions are likely to be made.<\/p>\n
Any decision regarding Rosebank Field may be made separately from the decision regarding Jackdaw. Mr Khan said: “Rosebank is oil for profit, not our national security. Its reserves – which if burnt would put the UK in breach of its climate change commitments – are primarily oil for export. It could reduce the UK’s annual dependence on gas imports by just 1% on average.”<\/p>\n
“Our fossil fuels are supplied by volatile global markets over which we have no control, and are regularly upended by reckless wars and blockades. The only path to real security is to leave fossil fuels behind as soon as possible,” said Philip Evans, a climate activist at Greenpeace UK.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero told the Guardian: \u201cOur priority is to deliver a just, orderly and prosperous transition in the North Sea, in line with climate and legal obligations, that drives a clean energy future of energy security, low prices and good long-term jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oil and gas companies’ valuations have soared due to the Iran war, data from the Fuel Poverty Eradication Coalition showed on Friday. Just over a month after the dispute began, BP’s market capitalization has increased by nearly a quarter, adding \u00a317bn to its value, while global oil company Exxon Mobil’s has increased by nearly a fifth, or \u00a387bn. Shell’s share price rose 15% by Friday, increasing the company’s market capitalization by around \u00a325bn, while Chevron’s rose 17% to around \u00a345bn.<\/p>\n
Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: <\/strong>\u201cIt is not a market that works in the public interest, but one that rewards companies with products that are driving up bills that millions of households cannot afford.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that households are still reeling from the effects of utility bill increases related to the previous oil crisis, which began in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. “This has left households with huge energy debts and struggling to make ends meet. It’s clear that long-term reforms are needed to stop history from repeating itself and prevent the scourge of fuel poverty that lingers for decades.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n #North #Sea #drilling #reduce #gas #imports #data #shows<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The development of major new oil fields in the North Sea will do little to change Britain’s dependence on gas imports, research has shown. The Jacques Dawes field, one of the North Sea’s largest undeveloped gas fields, will replace just 2% of the UK’s current gas imports, leaving the UK almost entirely reliant on supplies … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1],"tags":[2085,1419,1104,2175,1092,960,1186,2176],"class_list":["post-552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","category-general","tag-data","tag-drilling","tag-gas","tag-imports","tag-north","tag-reduce","tag-sea","tag-shows"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/golliza.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/golliza.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/golliza.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/golliza.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/golliza.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/golliza.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/golliza.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/golliza.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/golliza.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/golliza.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}