Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of changes in the level of gas imports from (a) Norway, (b) USA, (c) Qatar and (d) the rest of the world relative to UK domestically produced gas from 2025 to 2030 by (i) volume and (ii) proportion.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government works with the Energy System operators to closely monitor and forecast the UK’s supply and demand for natural gas. The National Energy System Operator’s 2025 publication of Future Energy Scenarios contains a breakdown of gas supply sources, including imports to the UK.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his department has made of the potential impact of unionisation within the renewables industry on energy bills.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As set out in our Clean Energy Jobs Plan, trade unions working in partnership with government and industry will play a vital role in building the workforce to meet our clean energy ambitions.
Hundreds of thousands of people could directly benefit from good jobs with fair wages in the clean energy sector – and we are clear that greater trade union recognition is one of the main ways to improve job quality.
This is good for workers and good for business, as studies have shown that workplaces with strong trade union representation have greater job satisfaction, improved retention, and stronger productivity growth which will benefit the sector.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an estimate of the change in the number of jobs in the North Sea oil and gas sector from (a) operator and (b) supply chain companies in each year between 2026 and 2030.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Robert Gordon University estimates that by the early 2030s, the UK oil and gas workforce will be between 57,000 and 71,000, down from 115,000 in 2024.
The natural decline of North Sea oil and gas has seen more than 70,000 jobs lost in the last decade. The Government published its North Sea Future Plan (26 November), setting out how we will support our North Sea supply chains, protect current jobs, and secure the next generation of good jobs.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he last visited (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire; when he last met with representatives of an oil and gas company in (i) Aberdeen and (ii) Aberdeenshire to discuss their oil and gas activities; and if he will list what companies he met with.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many times he has (a) visited Aberdeen, (b) visited Aberdeenshire and (c) met an oil and gas company in (i) Aberdeen and (ii) Aberdeenshire to discuss their activities; and if he will list what businesses he met with.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had recent discussions with his Norwegian counterpart on (a) the Northern Lights project and (b) the viability of emulating their non-pipeline transport of carbon dioxide in the UK.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 7th May 2025, the Secretary of State met with Minister Aasland, his Norwegian counterpart, on the occasion of signing a Green Industrial Partnership with the Norwegian Government. This recognised the importance of continued collaboration on Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS), including a commitment to initiate work to identify gaps and challenges to the development of our common North Sea as a hub for carbon storage. Sharing knowledge from current projects, including the Northern Lights CCS project, will play an important role.
Our recently published Industrial Strategy: Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan emphasised how the UK’s favourable geology offers capacity to safely store up to 78 billion tonnes of CO2 and the potential to offer international CO2 storage services. Non-pipeline transport, especially the transport of CO2 via ship, will help maximise this geological potential.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to help ensure that levels of (a) oil and (b) gas production from existing fields are maintained.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has committed to maintaining existing fields for their lifetime. Earlier this year, the Government consulted on ‘Building the North Sea’s energy future’, including proposals not to issue new licences to explore new fields and to partner with business and workers to manage existing fields for their lifespan. A Government response to the consultation will be published in due course.
Oil and gas production efficiency is monitored by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA). The NSTA publishes a UK Continental Shelf Production Efficiency dashboard on its website
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what his Department's planned timetable is for (a) making and (b) announcing its decision on whether Mingyang Smart Energy will be permitted to supply turbines for (i) Green Volt and (ii) other wind projects.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The suppliers that offshore wind projects use are a commercial decision for the company involved. As an open economy, we welcome foreign trade and investment, including from China, where it supports growth and jobs in the UK, meets our stringent legal and regulatory requirements, and does not compromise our national security.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions he has had with the North Sea Transition Authority on its statutory duty to maximise the economic recovery of oil and gas in the UK Continental shelf.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of Ministers’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to future-proof the carbon capture and storage industry.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is working to create a CCUS industry and has provided increased support to UK CCUS by allocating £9.4 billion in capital budgets over the Spending Review period.
The Government has announced its support for the Acorn (Scotland) and Viking (Humber) clusters and is providing the development funding to advance their delivery. A final investment decision (FID) will be taken later this Parliament, subject to project readiness and affordability.
The Government is actively engaging industry on key enabling CCUS policies to ensure we can build the longer-term pipeline of projects that in turn will grow the economy, contribute to the Clean Power Mission and is done at lowest cost to reach Net Zero.