Prime Minister Andy Burnham has given his clearest indication yet that his government could allow further drilling in the North Sea, saying Labour must take a “pragmatic” approach to net zero.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Burnham appeared to endorse the position recently set out by Ecotricity founder and Labour donor Dale Vince, who has argued that continued North Sea production can be compatible with the energy transition.
Mr Vince said Britain’s reliance on fossil fuels remained “a reality” for the coming decades, adding: “If we approach things differently, we can actually make sense of drilling the North Sea.”
The comments come amid mounting pressure on the government to approve the Jackdaw and Rosebank developments and provide greater certainty over the future of the North Sea.
Meanwhile, former energy adviser to Gordon Brown, Nick Butler, has also urged the government to approve Rosebank and Jackdaw, warning there is no economic or environmental benefit to blocking the developments.
“We would just progressively become even more dependent on imports than we are, and we would lose the jobs and the revenue that they provide,” he said.
Mr Butler said there remained significant potential in the basin beyond the two projects.
“The supply chain and the workers in Aberdeen depend on a continuous flow of projects,” he said.
“Now, the North Sea is never going to be as great as it was – but there’s still about 10 to 12 billion barrels of oil and gas to be found, and I think quite a lot of that will be developable.”