The UK government is set to ban new exploration for gas and oil in the North Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Energy Independence Bill will remove the North Sea Transition Authority\u2019s power to grant new oil and gas licenses as well as introducing Transitional Energy Certificates (TECs) to manage existing offshore fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The proposal fulfils Labour<\/a>\u2019s 2024 manifesto commitment to end new licensing and would require a parliamentary majority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This would not affect existing production decisions on gas and oil production nor the pending decision on Rosebank, the nation\u2019s largest undeveloped oilfield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TECs would allow additional production near already licensed fields, or within existing field boundaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The government says the restrictions will help meet its 1.5 \u00b0C climate goal, strengthen the UK\u2019s geopolitical position and sustain long term jobs in the energy sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It argues that the North Sea is a \u201cmature basin\u201d, where production has naturally declined over 25 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Further licensing, it says, would not reverse that decline or change the UK\u2019s status as a net importer of oil and gas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the proposed restrictions on future exploration come amid continued government support for domestic gas extraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just two weeks before the proposal, the UK government approved gas extraction at Jackdaw, a North Sea gasfield owned and operated by Adura.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The government said the decision would \u201cprotect hundreds of jobs and help keep millions of homes warm this winter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet the developer estimated the project would create 27 direct jobs and protect 273 existing jobs that would otherwise be\u202flost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Councillor Alexi Dimond cited this limited number of new jobs in his criticism, calling the approval as not being \u2018climate leadership\u2019 and instead \u2018climate vandalism.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sheffield\u2019s Lord Deputy Mayor, Peter Gilbert, questioned the government\u2019s integrity in regards to sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don’t trust this government when it comes to any of their environmental commitments,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said the Jackdaw decision showed Labour would prioritise short-term profit over \u201cthe future of our children.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gilbert linked the issue to Sheffield, citing the summer\u2019s extreme heatwave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAlthough it happens in the North Sea, it affects everybody in Sheffield, because we\u2019re all part of this one plant,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n It\u2019s the Burn \u2018um mentality. Burn \u2018um all!<\/p>\n People are struggling to make ends meet. In austerity Britain voters don\u2019t have time to react to future threats. <\/p>\n @andyburnham: Climate Criminal and War Criminal and only in office a few weeks. What a record! <\/p>\n https:\/\/t.co\/W2uCRtGy8Y<\/p>\n — Cllr Peter Gilbert (@PeterGilbertUK) October 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n