Fossil Fuels: Exploration

(asked on 24th May 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies on (a) new exploration licenses for UK oil and gas (b) existing oil and gas reserves of the International Energy Agency (IEA)'s energy scenario aligned with the 1.5C goal of the Paris climate agreement published on 18 May 2021.


Answered by
Anne-Marie Trevelyan Portrait
Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 2nd June 2021

The International Energy Agency (IEA)’s recent report sets out a global pathway for achieving net zero. While the report acknowledges that continued investment in existing sources of oil and gas will be required to meet the world’s energy demands, it also states that no new oil or gas fields are necessary.

The UK Continental Shelf is a mature oil and gas basin that is declining. We expect this rate of decline to be broadly in line with our domestic demand, and even with continued licensing for oil and gas in the UK, we expect the UK to remain a net importer of both oil and gas. This means that any reduction in the UK’s own production would simply result in the UK importing more oil and gas from other countries.

In March, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy announced that a new climate compatibility checkpoint will be introduced into the oil and gas licensing regime. This checkpoint will help ensure that any future licenses are only awarded on the basis that they are aligned with the Government’s broad climate change ambitions, including the UK’s target of reaching net zero by 2050. This checkpoint will be designed by the end of 2021.

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