Greenpeace versus Britain: a new struggle for the North Sea

British regulators on Friday fired early guns for a new round of licenses that will allow companies to explore for oil and gas in the North Sea, as climate activists said they would seek legal action.

The North Sea Transitional Authority (NSTA) is expected to issue more than 100 permits to companies by the end of June, as the government seeks to increase Britain’s energy self-sufficiency from an invasion of Ukraine by partly Russia, by extracting more fossil fuels from the North Sea. But environmental group Greenpeace said the new round of permits was potentially “illegal” and indicated it would seek legal action.

Climate activists cite the government’s efforts to secure more oil and gas from the North Sea conflict with its commitment to make the UK net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

In its new licensing round, the NSTA prioritized four areas in the southern part of the North Sea, where gas has been found. Secretary for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Jacob Rees-Mogg said the license would improve “both energy security [del Reino Unido] like our economy.

Licensing rounds used to be an almost annual event. But a pause was introduced after the last round in 2019-2020, as the government promised to draft “climate compatibility checks” to ensure the awarding of new permits was “consistent with the UK’s broader climate goals”.

The check was issued last month. But climate groups have criticized it as “nonsense” for being advisory only and not binding ministers on any particular outcome.

Philip Evans, energy transition campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said the new oil and gas licenses would not reduce energy bills for struggling families “this winter or next winter, nor would they provide energy security in the medium term.”

“New permits, and more importantly fossil fuels, don’t solve that problem, but they will make the climate crisis worse,” he added. “Probably, it is illegal and we will carefully examine opportunities to take action.”

The NSTA declined to comment on Greenpeace’s claims. When asked about the potential lawsuits last week, Andy Samuel, the outgoing chief executive of the NSTA, said: “We make sure that everything we do inside the NSTA is done to a very high standard.”

The licensing rounds have also drawn criticism for the length of time it takes for each oil and gas discovery to reach production. The average is five years, according to the NSTA, although it’s expected that accelerated licenses will pay off in just 12 to 18 months from being awarded.

Samuel said that given the “unusual” situation facing Western Europe after Russia in August stopped gas exports through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, it was right to do “whatever we can to increase domestic production.” But he also acknowledged that the new license round would not change Britain’s general dependence on imports.

Last year, UK oil and gas accounted for just 39% of the country’s overall supply mix, according to government assessments. Pipeline imports from Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium accounted for 44% of the mix, with liquefied natural gas shipped from destinations including the United States, Qatar and Russia making up the rest. The British government is trying to secure long-term gas contracts with countries such as Norway and Qatar.

Roderick Gilbert

"Entrepreneur. Internet fanatic. Certified zombie scholar. Friendly troublemaker. Bacon expert."

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