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2026-07-29 14:42 UTC → 2026-08-03 15:12 UTC ·
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The dispute over new North Sea licences continues into 2026. Labour’s Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has kept the Energy Independence Bill’s ban Bill, announced in the King’s Speech on 13 May, formally bans all new exploration North Sea oil and gas licences, while Chancellor Rachel Reeves has repeatedly voiced support including fracking. The ban was cemented on 16 May with legislation that makes the prohibition permanent, positioning the UK as a “clean‑energy superpower” by 2030 and pledging to shift investment toward offshore wind, nuclear, carbon capture and hydrogen. The House of Commons rejected a Conservative amendment on 19 May that would have allowed licences for approving the Rosebank oil field and Jackdaw gas field as “crucial assets” for UK energy security. In July, field, reinforcing the trade body Offshore Energies UK pressed ban while simultaneously easing sanctions on Russian‑derived fuels. A week later, the government to accelerate regulatory consent for Rosebank and Jackdaw, citing £8.7 billion and £2.1 billion in planned investment, an expected £28.7 billion in gross value added and thousands Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of jobs. The group Commerce warned that further delays would increase reliance on imported fuels and raise carbon emissions. At the same time, the Crown Estate launched ban could trigger a fast‑track tender to re‑market the 1.5 GW Morgan offshore wind project in the Irish brain‑drain of expertise and push investment abroad, though most industry bodies still see a long‑term North Sea after the original joint venture withdrew. The accelerated auction aims to award lease rights by year‑end future if fiscal conditions improve. Political pressure intensified. Scottish Green co‑leader Gillian Mackay (5 May) condemned all parties supporting new drilling and called for a tighter windfall tax. Conservative candidate Douglas Lumsden (8 June) urged Energy Secretary Ed Miliband to keep visit Aberdeen, warning the scheme ban could “push the industry into extinction”. Labour faced an internal split on track to power roughly 1.5 million homes. The government’s 24 June as Chancellor Rachel Reeves backed Rosebank and Jackdaw approvals while the party wrestled with its climate commitments and a £6 million retraining fund for oil‑gas workers remains in place, but political divisions persist as Conservatives accuse Labour displaced workers. A public consultation launched on 16 July on Rosebank and Jackdaw attracted industry claims of endangering the sector, £28.7 billion economic benefit, while environmental groups warned of locked‑in fossil‑fuel use. Calls to approve the industry stresses projects continued into August, with the need for AGCC urging swift approvals to sustain investment consent after BP announced a sale of its North Sea assets, citing job security and tax revenue. The debate now centres on whether the transition to renewables. ban can be upheld without jeopardising energy security, regional economies and the UK’s broader clean‑energy transition.