UK Gas Supply & Demand

A heavily regulated sector

The oil and gas sector is one of the most highly regulated industries in the country on both a local and national level. This helps ensure that our operations have a minimal impact on the local community and the environment. If we received planning permission for Cloughton, we will be subject to restrictions on many aspects of our operation.

Why we should drill for gas

There’s lots in the news about the climate crisis and the need to move away from fossil fuels and turn to renewables. We do not disagree with this principle, but it needs to be a managed process which allows us to heat our homes affordably and run our businesses effectively while the world makes this transition - all the more important during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

  • Both the former Conservative and the new Labour governments recognise that we will still require oil and gas until at least 2050
  • Domestic gas produced here in the UK will displace liquified natural gas imports, which would reduce global emissions
  • The UK is currently using twice as much gas as we are producing from the North Sea and onshore and we are importing half of our gas from abroad. The UK currently imports 36% of its LNG demand from the USA, Qatar and Peru which has a particularly high CO₂ footprint. The UK government recognises that UK onshore gas production has a minimal carbon footprint in comparison
  • High levels of imports make us more vulnerable to security of supply as we experienced following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
  • The country spends more money importing oil and gas (including petroleum products) than on education. (2023: £135 billion compared to about £106 billion)*

*Source: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Digest of UK Energy Statistics
Annual Data for UK (DUKES) – www.gov.uk/government/collections/digest-of-uk-energy-statistics-dukes

Domestic gas over Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) imports - a no brainer

  • Significantly lower carbon emissions and no expensive transportation costs
  • Greater control over energy security - crucial in current geopolitical environment
  • Domestic gas is pivotal to achieving Net Zero 2050 and facilitating seamless energy transition

There is no published government scenario for the UK reaching Net Zero 2050 which does not involve continued use of natural gas even in the most ambitious high-electrification scenarios. Hence why the government is supporting carbon capture and hydrogen from natural gas initiatives.