UK energy security has worsened despite Westminster signing off on scores of new oil and gas licenses, a new analysis has found, as exports of North Sea oil have surged to more than 81% of production.
Despite a boom of nearly 1700 oil and gas licenses being signed off over two decades, oil production in the North Sea has plummeted and exports have increased.
Global Witness’s findings come ahead of a debate on the UK Government’s Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill in the House of Commons next week, where ministers are aiming to legislate for annual licensing rounds.
READ MORE: What does the Tories' latest 'raid' on North Sea oil and gas mean for Scotland?
The legislation has been criticised for not only supporting the fossil fuel industry amid the climate crisis, but for claiming that the North Sea oil and gas would reduce reliance on imports - when large amounts of it will be sold on the international market.
Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho has also admitted it will not help to reduce household energy bills.
The international campaign group found that between 2004 and 2023, the UK awarded 1680 new licenses to produce or explore for oil and gas, while at the same time (2004-2022) UK oil exports surged from 68% to 81%.
At the same time, UK oil production dropped by 60% between 2004 and 2022, with the industry exporting a larger share of a decreasingly small pot.
Jonathan Noronha-Gant, senior campaigner for Global Witness, said: "The new annual licensing law will do nothing for UK energy security and will allow private companies to send more expensive, polluting fossil fuels abroad.
“This unpopular policy will only prolong the current energy problems we face.
“People want long-term solutions to help bring down their bills and fight the emissions damaging the climate.
“New oil fields will only line the pockets of rich fossil fuel firms; they won't help the millions of Brits struggling to pay their bills."
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Previously, professor Gavin Bridge, fellow of the Durham Energy Institute at Durham University, said that “very little” of the oil pumped from the North Sea is sold on British soil, and the price is largely set on the international markets.
“The notion that more drilling on the continental shelf boosts our energy security doesn’t stand up to scrutiny,” he said.
“Most of the oil is extracted by private or foreign state-owned companies over which the Government has little control.”
The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) already has the authority to sign off on oil and gas licenses as frequently as it chooses.
Earlier this week, it was announced that Shell had been given the go-ahead for a new gas field near Shetland, expected to produce 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day when it comes online.
The Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill was initially set for its second reading on January 8 but was postponed due to debates on the Israel-Hamas conflict and Horizon scandal. It is now set to be debated on Monday 22.
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We told how Tory MP, and the former energy minister who published the UK Government’s Net Zero Review, Chris Skidmore resigned over the legislation and said he could not support it.
COP26 President Alok Sharma MP also hit out at the legislation, accusing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of "chopping and changing" on climate policy.
We told how the legislation was described as a “pipe dream” by climate campaigners when it was first announced, amid concerns that it would delay the move to net zero.
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