A report from Offshore Energies UK claimed reforms to the tax regime and a ‘pragmatic approach’ to licensing could see 111 projects go ahead.
More than 100 new oil and gas projects could be given the green light if the UK Government changes the tax regime for the sector and adopts a more “pragmatic approach” to licensing, energy sector bosses have said.
Offshore Energies UK is pushing for “suitable reform of the Energy Profits Levy” (EPL) early next year alongside ministers adopting a new regulatory framework that “clearly supports domestic supplies over imports”.
OEUK chief executive David Whitehouse warned ministers that without such changes the “consequences are clear”.
He said: “We will continue to see the loss of jobs in the UK; we will continue to see significant, increasing imports of our energy; the country will become less resilient.”
As well as calling for the introduction of the planned new Oil and Gas Revenue Levy – which will replace the EPL – to be brought forward from 2030 to 2027, Mr Whitehouse stressed the importance of “timely” decisions on both the Rosebank and Jackdaw developments.
He said: “I do think we are now at a point where we are looking for those decisions to come – and more broadly that signal that actually the UK wants to produce more of its own energy; wants to produce more oil and gas.”
And he warned that delaying a decision on the Jackdaw gas field, which lies about 150 miles east of Aberdeen, could impact UK gas supplies this winter.
Mr Whitehouse said: “The truth is that Jackdaw is an important component of our gas delivery for the winter period 2026-27.
“It can produce up to 6% of the gas we will need and we are now at a point in the coming weeks where without regulatory approval we are going to delay the production of that field.
“Jackdaw is an important component of our gas production this winter, and we’re now at a point where further delays are going to push back bringing that production on line.”
He spoke out as the OEUK warned that Europe’s gas storage levels “are now at a five-year low” with market intelligence manager Ben Ward claiming this could see “sustained high European gas prices, including the UK’s gas prices, throughout the winter period”.
However, OEUK’s 2026 economic report said that “fiscal reform and a pragmatic approach to licensing could unlock investment and improve long-term energy security”.
It added: “A more competitive regime from 2027 could unlock 111 additional projects, £50 billion of private capital investment and 3.25 billion boe (barrels of oil equivalent) of production, helping sustain domestic output and reduce future import dependence.”
The report told how the UK currently relies on imports of oil and to “meet over 40% of its energy needs”.
But it argued supporting increased domestic energy production “strengthens our energy security, supports skilled jobs and limits exposure to geopolitical instability”.
Mr Ward said, although the North Sea basin “is mature”, “the pace of decline is not fixed”.
Instead, he said: “The outcome will be shaped by investment, the regulatory and fiscal environments.”
He added that oil and gas firms have “clearly shown a willingness to invest, with projects that could begin delivering new domestic oil and gas within months, should we see an announcement this coming budget” on a new fiscal regime.
Mr Ward continued: “Producing energy domestically, unequivocally comes with lower emissions. The UK has a proud history of supply decarbonisation, resulting in lower carbon emissions than the global average, and significantly lower emissions than imported LNG.
“To put it simply, producing energy domestically is better for the environment than importing energy.”
His comments came as OEUK said that introducing the new Oil and Gas Revenue Levy in 2027, instead of 2030 – would net an extra £14.9 billion for the Treasury over the next decade.
The report added: “Fiscal reform from 2027 will be critical to the future of the UKCS (UK continental shelf).
“Industry has consistently highlighted the need for a stable and competitive long-term investment framework to restore confidence and unlock investment. Without it, declining activity levels, weaker production forecasts and growing reliance on imports are likely to continue.
“At a time when energy security remains a strategic priority, maximising domestic production should be a central objective of UK energy policy.”
However Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift, which campaigns for a move away from fossil fuels towards renewables, insisted: “This is just fantasy from the OEUK, who are ignoring geology, history and also the very real climate crisis we have all just suffered.
“After 50 years of drilling, the North Sea is a declining, ultra-mature basin. The UK has burned most of its gas and what’s left is mostly oil, the vast majority of which is exported and sold on international markets.
“New drilling will do nothing to bring down bills and little for energy security. Without a rapid shift to the abundant renewable energy we have, and help to households to shift away from their reliance on fossil fuels, the UK will become ever more reliant on imported gas regardless of what the OEUK say.”
A UK Government spokesperson said: “We’re giving the sector and its investors the long-term certainty to plan, invest and support jobs with plans to replace the Energy Profits Levy when it ends by 2030, or earlier if its price floor is triggered.
“We are also making sure the North Sea has a prosperous and sustainable future through record investment that helps deliver the next generation of skilled jobs while growing the clean energy industries of the future.”
