UK Government Introduces Bill to Ban New North Sea Oil and Gas Licences

The UK government will introduce legislation banning new North Sea oil and gas exploration licences as part of the Energy Independence Bill. The King announced the Energy Independence Bill at the state opening of Parliament. The government will make it illegal to grant new oil and gas licences in the North Sea.

The ban bakes into law the Labour Party's pre-election pledge not to explore new oil and gas fields. The pledge was made to take control of the UK's energy security. In its 2024 manifesto, the Labour Party promised a ban on all new exploration and drilling licences in the North Sea and to turn Britain into a clean energy superpower by 2030.

Oil and gas accounts for three-quarters of the UK’s energy mix. The majority of UK fossil fuels are now shipped in from abroad. Critics argue the policy will increase Britain’s reliance on imported fossil fuels while damaging Scotland’s oil and gas industry.

The price of crude oil nearly doubled in a month after the outbreak of war in Iran. Last week, Norway approved plans to reopen three gasfields that had been shut for decades to help meet global demand caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane. Reform UK and the Conservatives have vowed to overturn the ban.

The US ambassador to the UK has used multiple interviews to urge Britain to make more of its reserves. Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho accused Ed Miliband of being utterly deluded for seeking to put the ban into the statute book. “He is not making us more independent.

He is making us more reliant on foreign imports,” she said. The legislation comes as calls for ministers to rethink the ban have grown louder since the outbreak of war in Iran. The government claims the ban will help Britain off the roller-coaster of fossil fuel markets.

Since entering government, Labour has faced growing pressure to renege on the promise, with critics arguing it strangles one of Scotland’s most vibrant industries and fails to improve the UK’s environmental footprint.