UK must ‘maximise’ oil and gas extraction, Kemi Badenoch says

The Conservatives would seek to “maximise extraction” of oil and gas if it were in government, Kemi Badenoch will say today.

The party leader is set to speak at the Society of Petroleum Engineers Offshore Europe conference in Aberdeen.

Claiming the Conservatives are the only party that is “backing Britain’s North Sea industry”, she will pledge to end the ban on granting new oil and gas licenses, lift the policy that prevents the government from providing financial and promotional support for overseas fossil fuel projects, and rebrand the North Sea Transition Authority to the North Sea Authority.

Deputy first minister Kate Forbes, who is also addressing the conference, has said that suggesting there is a binary choice between fossil fuels and renewables risks creating the "worst of all worlds". 

Badenoch's announcement comes several months after she distanced her party from the net zero target it set while in government.

She is expected to say: “The foundation of economic growth is cheap, abundant energy – and that must be our priority.  

“That’s why it is time to overturn the absurd, anti-prosperity, anti-business, anti-oil and gas, anti-British ban on supporting UK companies who export their world leading technologies overseas. A ban that has done nothing but see business destined for British businesses go to companies from overseas. 

“We should be proud, indeed I am proud, of the cutting-edge technology being developed here in Aberdeen and around the UK. We should be championing this technology and these companies – flying the flag for the skills and expertise developed here in Scotland.”

The conference is taking place over four days at P&J Live. Deputy first minister Kate Forbes is to make a keynote speak on Tuesday afternoon, while UK energy security minister Michael Shanks will take part in a panel discussion.

Speaking ahead of her address, Forbes said: “We have an opportunity in front of us to develop and harness Scotland's offshore sector in a way that delivers jobs, economic growth and energy security not just for the next 10 years, but for the next 100. 

“That fact is that Scotland's offshore industry is being jeopardised because to Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage, extraction means draining every pound of Scotland's natural resources without giving a single penny back.

“The next chapter for our energy sector is one which must be written carefully and considerately, recognising the renewables jobs of tomorrow only come by protecting the world class offshore industry we have today - it is not a binary choice. The justice of a just transition is lost on Westminster politicians, who are risking the worst of all worlds in our future.”

The UK Government made a legally binding commitment in 2019, under Theresa May, to reach net zero by 2050.

But Badenoch said in March that the target was “impossible” without considerable cost to the taxpayer.

Reform UK has also dubbed these targets "stupid" and pledged to scrap them, if they were to enter government.

However, Labour remains committed to the 2050 aim. Energy secretary Ed Miliband has not granted any new oil and gas exploration licenses since Labour came to power last year, a pledge the party made in the run-up to the general election.

Critics have argued this is the wrong move while greener industries are not yet ready to enable a just transition to the new economy.

The Scottish Government had previously floated adopting a policy presumption against new oil and gas fields, though the final energy strategy is yet to be published and it has been suggested the SNP is moving away from that position.

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has accused both Labour and the Tories of taking “extreme positions”, warning neither has a place to replace oil and gas.

He said: “These extreme positions are all likely to create a cliff-edge for jobs, the economy and energy security. Westminster politicians need to stop treating Scotland’s energy wealth as an expendable asset, and instead back our domestic industry and its workforce to power the transition to renewables.”