Saving the North Sea: A Case for Common Sense

LET ME introduce myself. I am a 54-year-old former Managing Director of an international oil and gas service company. I left school at fifteen, served an apprenticeship as a mechanical fitter, and spent 35 years in the industry. I worked my way up in a family-founded company and can confidently say I graduated from the school of hard knocks.

I have lived through three downturns and subsequent recoveries, so I believe I am qualified to offer a credible perspective. I also have strong connections to fishing, farming, education, hospitality, and healthcare. In this article, I will focus on oil and gas and renewables, as these sectors have a significant impact on the economy of the North East of Scotland.

We know where oil and gas came from—but where are we now? Our industry is being prematurely shut down by Labour’s Ed Miliband and the SNP’s John Swinney, supported by the ideological, left-wing Greens. Renewables may be an attractive concept, but the reality is not what the media and government would have us believe. 75 per cent of so-called green jobs are created in overseas manufacturing plants, not here in the UK.

We will need oil and gas for decades to come. We must protect and grow our skills base; renewables can never plug this gap. New licences should be granted for both offshore drilling and onshore fracking. The UK still has at least fifty years of reserves, and with emerging technologies — including AI — we could remain largely self-sufficient while continuing to reduce emissions. The UK has been a global leader in cutting emissions, yet we are being pushed down an ideological path that is not, in my view, grounded in scientific or economic reality.

Our woke Labour Government is strangling new exploration and chasing away investment, whilst increasing reliance on countries that do not care not one iota for the local environment: it’s simply crazy!

Michael Shanks (the ex-Modern Studies teacher) is our UK Energy Minister, what qualifies him to have the responsibility he has? He claims that geology issues are the main reason for an increase in imports: what utter nonsense. With a windfall tax rate of 78%, investment is inevitably constrained. At the same time, the projected cost of achieving net zero by 2050 has been estimated at £803 billion. Whether one supports the target or not, the scale of that financial commitment demands honest scrutiny — particularly when economic growth is weak.

We will need oil and gas for decades to come

So, we know what is wrong but how do we fix it? For me, this is not a difficult nut to crack. The solutions are simple, but alas it may be too late. We simply must be self-sufficient; we cannot rely on costly imports; we have to protect the skill base and grow our economy. New licences should be encouraged, levies and windfall taxes need to be fair and geared to supporting, not penalising, our own production and economy. Our oil & gas Industry has been portrayed as the dirty enemy; this is incorrect and unjust. We need to turn the clock back twenty years when it comes to regulation. We must adopt a more pragmatic approach and continue to develop world-leading technology which would aid extraction and reduce emissions. Our draconian Governments are putting this at risk.

As for renewables, I think these offshore and onshore wind projects are an unreliable and costly folly. They damage our fertile seabeds and farmland, they are unreliable due to the weather, and are highly subsidised by consumers: the emphasis on unlimited renewables is economic suicide. There are serious questions about the consultation and planning processes on these projects as approvals are rushed through. In some cases, government grants are being awarded with little to no accountability.

Solar energy, when panels are deployed on rooftops of homes, farms, and industrial buildings, makes practical sense. However solar farms and battery storage installations destroy productive farmland and raise safety concerns.

All this is not rocket science: we need common-sense policies and politicians with real-world experience. Failure to act will be catastrophic, and future generations will suffer the consequences. We have no option but to fight against this woke centre-left movement, and it is only Reform that can start to reverse our industrial decline.