According to Shabbs, abandoning the North Sea would result in higher carbon emissions due to reliance on foreign oil and gas imports. The energy minister has branded Labour’s stance against North Sea oil and gas “madness”, criticizing the policy as leaving the UK vulnerable to energy weapons like what happened to Russia.
Labor leader Keir Starmer stood firm on blocking new North Sea permits, while Labor energy secretary Ed Miliband warned it would fail to improve the UK’s energy security and roll back climate commitments.
In contrast, Labor leader Keir Starmer has promised his party will not grant new licenses in the North Sea if it wins the next general election. However, they will not cancel existing contracts. Schabbs criticized the policy as “insane” and advocated permitting all potential oil and gas fields as long as they were aligned with net zero goals.
In 2021, the UK imports its crude oil and natural gas liquids from Norway, absorbing 13 million metric tons of crude oil and 1.7 million metric tons of natural gas liquids. According to Statistica.com, US imports (~11 million tons combined) are the second largest by volume.
British imports of natural gas, oil and coal from Russia totaled £4.5bn in 2021, falling to £1.3bn in the year to January 2023.
