BBC News 31 July 2023
- The government will issue hundreds of new oil and gas licences for the North Sea, Rishi Sunak confirms
- The first will be issued this autumn - with at least 100 in the next round
- "We’re choosing to power up Britain from Britain," says Sunak
- And he says even when the UK reaches net zero in 2050, it will still need oil and gas
- But the SNP warns that while energy security is important, the UK needs to consider "the looming climate catastrophe"
- And Oxfam Scotland says drilling for more oil and gas in the North Sea is "short-sighted and selfish"
- Downing Street also confirms millions of pounds for a new carbon capture scheme in north-east Scotland
New oil and gas licences will bolster the UK's energy independence and economy for generations, energy security secretary Grant Shapps has said.
He stressed energy security was "more important than ever" so Putin "can never again use energy as a weapon to blackmail us".
Writing in a statement, he said: "Safeguarding energy bills for British families and providing a homegrown fuel for our economy that, for domestic gas production, has around one-quarter the carbon footprint of imported liquified natural gas.
"Our next steps to develop carbon capture and storage, in Scotland and the Humber, will also help to build a thriving new industry for our North Sea that could support as many as 50,000 jobs, as we deliver on our priority of growing the economy."
If you've just joined us, you might be wondering what carbon capture is following the news the government has announced up to £20bn of funding for it.
Professor Jon Gluyas, from Durham University, explains: "When you burn fossil fuels whether it's coal, oil or gas, of course you release carbon dioxide.
"And in carbon capture instead of letting that go into the atmosphere, it's taken out before the CO2 emits from the chimney.
"It's compressed and moved by pipeline to the North Sea or East Irish Sea and then buried deep two to three kilometres beneath the sea bed.
The new funding will pay for early deployment of carbon capture, utilisation and storage, with the Acorn project in Scotland’s north east now receiving support, along with the Viking project in the Humber.
Environmentalist and broadcaster Chris Packham says carbon capture is still a fledgling science.
