UK Government plans to cut power bills for thousands of businesses are a “short-term fix”, the head of a key industry body said, as he urged ministers to focus efforts on boosting energy security in a “volatile world”.
David Whitehouse, the chief executive of Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) issued a stark warning over the UK’s dependence on imported fuels.
With “global tensions rising” the industry chief insisted that the UK relying on imports for almost 40% of its total energy needs left the country “exposed”.
Mr Whitehouse said: “In a volatile world, relying on others for our energy is not a position of strength.”
Calling for action he insisted that the production of “homegrown” oil and gas must be prioritised over imports.
However the OEUK conference in Aberdeen where he was speaking saw protests from climate campaigners Extinction Rebellion, who accuse oil companies of “greenwashing and fossil fuel lobbying in Scottish politics”.
Activists there were dressed as Daleks who were “holding petrol nozzles as exterminators”.
The demonstration came as Mr Whitehouse claimed that while plans announced by the UK Government on Monday to reduce electricity bills for more than 7,000 manufacturing businesses would “provide much-needed respite”, these would also be a “short-term fix”.
Instead he argued that the UK needs the “homegrown dividend” that could be provided by investing in both North Sea oil and gas and renewable power.
The secure energy supplies this could give could help the UK’s manufacturing sector to thrive, he insisted.
Mr Whitehouse said this “means accelerating the build-out of our renewable energy alongside the responsible production of our domestic oil and gas”.
He told the conference that the issue of fossil fuels and renewables was “not an either/or”, stressing both forms of power are needed.
Mr Whitehouse added the decisions to be made by the UK Government in the coming months would “shape the future of the North Sea”.
He stressed however: “This should not be a choice between tackling our emissions versus economic growth. We can deliver both.
“This should not be a choice of renewable energy versus domestic oil and gas. We need both.”
But he made clear the UK should choose “homegrown energy” over imported fuels.
The OEUK chief executive said: “This is a choice between backing our workforce, our supply chain companies, value in our economy over importing the solution.
“It is the choice between a homegrown dividend over a dependency drain.”
But here he said the UK was “not on track”, telling the conference: “In a country that relies on 75% on oil and gas for its energy, we are not seeing the investment we need in our domestic oil and gas sector.”
Mr Whitehouse also noted that while there had been “important announcements” from the UK Government on green energy “we are not seeing renewable projects being advanced at the speed originally envisaged”.
A spokesperson for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero said: “As the Prime Minister has said, the clean energy mission is in the DNA of this Government – because it is the route to energy security, lower bills, and good jobs for our country.
“Oil and gas production in the North Sea will be with us for decades to come, and we will deliver a fair and prosperous transition by managing the existing fields for the entirety of their lifespan.
“We have already taken rapid steps, with the biggest ever investment in offshore wind and carbon capture and storage clusters.”
