- New board of experts to drive forward the government’s North Sea Future Plan for a prosperous and sustainable future.
- The North Sea Future Board tasked with helping to boost investment, unblock barriers, and support the highly-skilled oil and gas workforce, as it holds inaugural meeting in Aberdeen.
- Comes as historic clean energy security pact agreed between UK and EU this week, to secure 100 GW of joint offshore wind projects in the North Sea.
The North Sea – its workers, communities, businesses and supply chains – will benefit from opportunities and investment as the government tasks a new board of experts to drive forward its plan for a prosperous and sustainable future.
Industry bodies from across oil, gas and clean energy sectors, trade unions and local leaders will join forces in Aberdeen today (29 January) for the inaugural meeting of the new North Sea Future Board – chaired by UK Energy Minister Michael Shanks.
It comes as Energy Minister Michael Shanks issues a “call to arms” for all those who form part of the North Sea’s success story to now work together in future proofing the sector, to protect its highly skilled workforce and create the next generation of new jobs.
Bringing together world-leading expertise from across the offshore sectors, the board will support the rollout of the government’s landmark North Sea Future Plan, announced at Budget – setting a global blueprint for a fair, managed and prosperous transition as North Sea oil and gas reserves decline.
The start of 2026 alone has already seen huge progress towards the North Sea becoming a clean energy powerhouse. The government secured Europe’s biggest ever offshore wind auction with a record capacity of 8.4 GW, enough to power 12 million homes. This included positive results for Scotland for the first time in three years – delivering two offshore wind projects, that together could support over 5,600 high-skilled jobs in Scotland and boost local economic growth.
Building on this, UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband signed a historic clean energy security pact with European leaders at the North Sea Summit in Hamburg, that will help transform the North Sea into the world’s largest ‘clean energy reservoir’. In a new first, the countries pledged to deliver 100GW of offshore wind power through joint clean energy projects, as part of the target to reach 300GW of offshore wind in the North Sea by 2050.
Energy Minister Michael Shanks said
We are at a turning point in the North Sea’s success story and our actions now will determine the huge potential for it to become the clean energy powerhouse of Britain.
This is a call to arms for all those involved to come together in building a lasting future that will secure generations of highly skilled jobs and investment, while managing existing oil and gas production for decades to come.
The North Sea’s workers and communities have helped power the UK and the world for decades. The government’s North Sea Future Plan will ensure they continue to do so for many decades to come. It sets a clear path to grow clean energy industries, support the management of existing oil and gas fields for their lifespan, and help North Sea workers and communities make the transition.
The board will meet quarterly to oversee progress of this plan – together with Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy Gillian Martin and UK Industry Minister Chris McDonald. Key responsibilities of the board include helping to drive investment in all North Sea regions, unblocking barriers to delivering a clean energy transition, ensuring the highly skilled oil and gas workforce are supported, and identifying new opportunities for the supply chain.
Stuart Payne, Chief Executive of the North Sea Transition Authority, said
Through the new board we have a fantastic opportunity to shape the future of the North Sea across the entire energy sector, and I’m very happy to be a part of that.
Not only do we have representation from a variety of energy sectors, but also national and local government, trade unions and trade associations so that together we can manage the energy transition in a way that supports jobs, drives investment and meets our net zero ambitions.
Dan McGrail, Chief Executive of Great British Energy, said
The North Sea is home to world-class energy skills expertise. Our role is to support job creation for people with these skills so that they can diversify into renewable energy sectors and feel the benefits of a just transition.
By joining this board, Great British Energy will bring the voice of our Aberdeen Taskforce along with our plans to unlock the full potential of UK supply chains.
Claire Mack OBE, Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, said
Across the North Sea energy sector there is shared mission to build on its critical assets and expertise to accelerate the development of technologies like offshore wind. That will require careful design of the frameworks needed to support investment, supply chains and workers.
At this key stage of our energy transition, I’m pleased to be part of this coalition to strengthen how government and the sector work together. Now is the time to drive a common approach that responds to the country’s future economic and energy needs.
David Whitehouse, Chief Executive of Offshore Energies UK, said
At this important time for the UK’s national and industrial resilience, this Board offers a practical opportunity for government and industry to work together.
By unlocking confidence and supporting investment across our whole homegrown energy mix, from the oil and gas we will continue to rely on, to the rollout of renewables, we can support jobs, grow the economy and cut emissions through safe, sustainable, UK‑produced energy.
Eddie Dempsey, General Secretary of the RMT, said
We look forward to working with the new Board through our representative RMT National Secretary Darren Procter to represent workers and their communities through the extension of employment protections across the supply chain.
Notes to editors
The members of the North Sea Future Board are
- UK Energy Minister Michael Shanks – Chair
- UK Industry Minister Chris McDonald
- Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy Gillian Martin
- Stuart Payne, CEO, North Sea Transition Authority
- John Boland, Regional Officer, Unite
- Darren Proctor, National Secretary, RMT
- Claire Greer, Regional Organiser, GMB Scotland
- Dave Whitehouse, CEO, OEUK
- Dan McGrail, CEO, Great British Energy
- Jim Savege, CEO, Aberdeenshire Council
- Maggie McGinlay, CEO, ETZ Ltd
- Claire Mack, CEO, Scottish Renewables
- Jane Cooper, Deputy CEO, RUK
- Kevin Keable, Chair, East of England Energy Group
- Rich Denny, Managing Director, Northern Endurance Partnership
- Joanne Leng, CEO, NOF
- Olivia Powis, Carbon Capture Storage Association
- Sam Long, CEO, Decom Mission
- Neil McCulloch, CEO, Adura
- Sarah Moore, CEO, Peterson
The Contracts for Difference AR7 results are available here. This includes two projects in Scotland – Berwick Bank fixed offshore wind farm (around 1.4 GW), which the developer estimates will support around 4,600 jobs; and Pentland floating offshore wind farm (92.5 MW), backed by pioneering investment from Great British Energy and the National Wealth Fund, which the developer estimates could support more than 1000 jobs.
North Sea oil and gas production is in natural decline, with a 75% reduction in production occurring between 1999 and 2024. Data from Offshore Energies UK shows that over 70,000 jobs were lost in the North Sea oil and gas sector between 2016 and 2023.
The government’s Clean Energy Jobs Plan confirmed that Scotland will benefit from up to 60,000 clean energy jobs by 2030, a 40,000 increase from 2023.
