Britain’s homegrown oil and gas comes ashore via eleven terminals that are the backbone of its energy system, quietly powering homes and communities, employing thousands of people and providing chemicals and products essential to firms across sectors.
A new Westwood Energy report commissioned by Offshore Energies UK shows the real-world impact on these hubs of stalling investment in domestic oil and gas. It shows the volumes UK terminals are handling - known as throughput levels – have declined by almost 40% since 2020, and without urgent reform of government policies will halve again by 2030.
This is serious for firms and people across Britain. Not only because domestic oil and gas supports over 200,000 jobs, providing 50% of UK demand and contributing £25 billion to the economy. But because each terminal supports locally and nationally interlinked networks of companies and jobs in industries like pharmaceuticals and fuels. They are also a key supplier of the UK’s chemicals industry, in which 130,000 people are employed and 60% of firms are reporting falling sales.
This delicate web of industrial activity reaches 150 miles out into the North Sea, back through terminals and into industrial communities across Scotland, Teesside, the Humber, East Anglia and the North West of England.
The rapid decline in oil and gas investment is threatening this integrated network. It risks beginning a domino effect as the premature decline domestic oil and gas impacts onshore terminals with knock-on consequences for wider industry.
In turn, domestic oil and gas supply chains are critical to the build out of renewables and offshore wind and carbon storage projects in the UK. OEUK’s 2025 supply chain report shows 40% of supply chain companies report a declining business environment, with almost 90% looking for growth opportunities outside the UK.
David Whitehouse, CEO Offshore Energies UK
OEUK Chief Executive David Whitehouse comments: “This report shows Britain faces a gathering industrial contagion. Politicians of all parties need to recognise that what happens to North Sea energy doesn’t begin and end in Aberdeen. It ripples through our industrial spine, across sectors and into Grangemouth, Humberside, Teesside, Tyneside, East Anglia and the North West. It undermines the homegrown manufacture of things like fuels, chemicals and pharmaceuticals as well as our energy future.
“The UK needs oil and gas for decades to come. But uncertainty over oil and gas licensing in UK waters, combined with uncompetitive taxes means imports are rising and investment in domestic production is stalling. The accelerated decline of Britain’s oil and gas production is being driven by policy, not geology. But with a supportive environment we could produce half of the oil and gas we need right here at home as we scale up renewables and add over £130 billion to the economy.
“The outcome of the government’s consultation on the future of the North Sea is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to safeguard energy security and jobs and reach net zero. The Budget on 26 November is a critical opportunity to reform policies, back British jobs, protect industrial Britain and bring investment back to our shores. We must get this right.”
Westwood’s report contains a range of illustrations bringing terminals and their networks to life, including an innovative “tube map” showing the full extent of its often-overlooked footprint across the UK. It has been presented and discussed in live and interactive sessions in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and London.
The study also brings solutions to the table. It pinpoints opportunities to boost throughput levels and safeguard jobs, tax revenues, supply chains, energy security and communities – but only if UK policymakers back responsible domestic oil and gas production over imports. This would help firms attract into the UK the private investment needed to raise production to viable levels alongside the build out of renewables and protect interlinked sectors.