Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) has sent a Valentine’s Day card to every MP and MSP, urging politicians to “turn on” the North Sea and end policies that are accelerating job losses, weakening energy security and increasing emissions.
The card calls on political leaders to stop “switching off” investment in the UK Continental Shelf and instead take immediate steps to restore competitiveness and confidence in the basin.
Inside, the card includes quotes from trade union leaders, energy sector voices and politicians, highlighting growing cross-spectrum concern that current policy is driving industrial decline.
AGCC warns that the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) has left the UK with one of the least competitive fiscal regimes globally, despite the oil and gas price spike ending more than three years ago.
The card has been sent to all MPs and MSPs
The Chamber says the result is falling production, stalled investment and job losses spreading well beyond the North-east of Scotland.
The card also highlights the Chamber’s view that increased reliance on imports is undermining the UK’s net zero ambitions, as imported oil and gas is typically more carbon-intensive than domestic production.
In a tongue-in-cheek closing message, the card suggests a “date” for change: 6 April – the start of the new tax year – calling for the UK Government to bring forward its planned replacement mechanism for the levy and provide certainty now, rather than waiting until 2030.
Russell Borthwick, Chief Executive at Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said: “This is a light-hearted message with a very serious point. The North Sea is not being phased down through a managed transition – it is being forced into decline by policy decisions that are driving investment away.
“We need politicians of all parties to recognise that a just transition requires protecting skilled jobs, maintaining domestic energy production, and supporting the supply chain while we scale up renewables.
“If we switch off the North Sea faster than we switch on alternatives, we don’t reduce demand – we simply import more energy, export jobs, and increase emissions.”
The card calls for an end to the EPL in April
The Chamber said the card reflects growing concern from across the spectrum – including trade unions and clean energy voices – that the current approach risks repeating past industrial mistakes.
More than 7,000 companies and business leaders recently signed-up to a campaign calling on the UK Government fast-track its new North Sea fiscal regime and avert tens of thousands of “avoidable” job losses.
The Energy Profits Levy - which Chancellor Rachel Reeves has extended to 2030 - has already been blamed for thousands of redundancies, including 700 at Harbour Energy. More than 800 jobs have also been lost at major infrastructure hubs at Grangemouth and Mossmorran.
The UK Government has already designed a new, fairer regime – Oil & Gas Price Mechanism (OGPM) – which would only kick in when prices are elevated, ranging from an oil price of $90 next year, through to $97 in 2030.
Click here to read the card if full.