\nLast updated:<\/p>\n
08 Apr. 2026\n<\/p>\n
Commenting on proposals set out today by Reform UK to maximise oil and gas production in the North Sea [1],\u00a0Laura Anderson,\u00a0Senior\u00a0Associate at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU)\u00a0said:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe North Sea is a mature oil and gas basin in long-term decline, and that is a geological reality that no political slogan can change. Even with new licences, overall production will continue to fall, meaning any strategy built on doubling down on oil and gas risks chasing a shrinking resource rather than planning for the future. [2]\u00a0<\/p>\n
“True energy security today means reducing exposure to volatile global fossil fuel markets, not deepening it. The price shocks of recent years have shown how reliant the UK is on international gas markets, leaving households and businesses vulnerable to geopolitical events and decisions taken by actors like Putin and Trump. Expanding domestic renewables, by contrast, offers a way to generate stable, homegrown energy that isn\u2019t subject to those same external pressures.<\/p>\n
“We are already seeing the benefits, with wind power helping to cut wholesale electricity prices significantly and strengthening Scotland\u2019s energy independence. Undermining that progress in favour of a declining and volatile fossil fuel system would not only risk higher bills, but also weaken Scotland\u2019s position in the growing global clean energy economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Notes to editors:<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0Reform\u2019s deputy leader and energy spokesperson Richard Tice was speaking at a press conference today in Aberdeen about\u00a0oil and gas, alongside Malcolm Offord,\u00a0Leader of Reform UK Scotland.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2. ECIU analysis of official UK oil and gas statistics\u00a0and projections\u00a0suggest\u00a0that 93% of\u00a0the\u00a0oil and gas\u00a0that\u00a0is likely to\u00a0be\u00a0produced\u00a0from the North Sea\u00a0has already been extracted:\u00a0https:\/\/eciu.net\/media\/press-releases\/around-90-of-uk-north-sea-oil-and-gas-already-drained-dry-analysis<\/a><\/p>\n For more information or for interview requests:<\/p>\n