Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said today oil and gas will remain part of the UK’s energy mix 'for a long time,' reinforcing the messaging from Offshore Energies UK, the trade body representing a sector that is vital to the UK economy.
Speaking alongside US President Donald Trump at an international press conference at Mr Trump’s Turnberry golf course in Ayrshire, Sir Keir Starmer said: 'We believe in a mix, and obviously oil and gas will be with us for a very long time, and that’ll be part of the mix, but also wind, solar, increasingly nuclear…'
The Prime Minister added: 'As we go forward, the most important thing for the United Kingdom is that we have control of our energy and we have energy independence and security.'
OEUK Chief Executive David Whitehouse wrote to the Prime Minister on Friday ahead of the visit asking him to back homegrown energy and agree that it is best for UK jobs, growth, industry and net zero.
The full letter can be found here.
David Whitehouse, Chief Executive of Offshore Energies UK, said:
'It is good to hear this clear recognition from the Prime Minister that the UK will need a diverse energy mix and that oil and gas remain essential to the UK’s energy future. We’ve long said that this is not a choice between renewables or oil and gas – we need both.
'We were pleased to set this out in our open letter to the Prime Minister ahead of today’s meeting with President Trump. The UK must not increase its reliance on imported energy.
'If we are going to use oil and gas, let’s produce it here – responsibly, with lower emissions, and with all the benefits to jobs, taxes and growth that come from homegrown supply.
'Words matter and today’s words from the Prime Minster were very welcome.
'What matters even more is action. We now need to see that recognition translate into decisions that back the UK’s offshore energy sector, support jobs, and secure investment in oil, gas, wind, hydrogen and carbon capture.
'The best way to influence prices and take control of our energy future is to back homegrown energy – including oil and gas – alongside the acceleration of renewables.
'The UK still gets three-quarters of its energy from oil and gas, and domestic production meets only half of that demand. Without action, import dependency will rise sharply.'
Transcription provided by OEUK – please check against the recording:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/live/bbcnews
From 14:50:
President Trump: Uh, it’s in the news about that, that aspect of it, but right now it would be inappropriate to talk about it.
Craig Paton, Press Association: So, Mr. President, your opposition to offshore wind is well known in Scotland.
President: Wind is a disaster in Scotland, across the UK, wind farms.
Craig Paton: Have you spoken to the prime minister, and will you speak to the first
President: all I can do is give my way look. Wind is the most expensive form of energy, and it destroys the beauty of your fields and your planes and your and your waterways. And look out there, there’s no windmills. But if you look at another direction, you see windmills. If, when we go to Aberdeen, you’ll see some of the ugliest windmills you’ve ever seen in the height of a 50 story building, and you can take 1000 times more energy out of a hole in the ground this big. It’s called oil and gas, and you have it there in the North Sea – this big that nobody would even see.
You could take 1000 times more power because the wind is intermittent. It doesn’t work. It’s extremely expensive. All the windmills are made in China. They used to be Germany and China. Now they’re mostly in China. They all come out of China.
They say that the blades, which are carbon, carbon fiber, you can’t bury. Oh, okay, you can’t bury. What are you going to do? Dump them in the ocean someplace, because they only last a certain period of time. And remember, a windmill has a life of eight years, especially when they’re out in the salty sea and they start to rot and to rust. You ever have to replace them? It’s very hard to replace them.
Wind needs massive subsidy, and you are paying in Scotland and in UK and all over the place, where they have massive subsidies to have these ugly monsters all over the place. So I restricted windmills in the United States, now a couple, we have, you know, the poor, stupid people at the beginning, they approve them, so they have their full approvals. But I restricted windmills in the United States because they also kill all your birds. You know, they wipe out, you know, it’s interesting. If you shoot a bald eagle in the United States, they put you in jail for five years.
And yet, windmills knock out hundreds of them. They don’t do anything. You explain that. So it’s a very expensive energy, it’s a very ugly energy, and we won’t allow it in the United States.
Prime Minister: So we believe in a mix. And obviously oil and gas is going to be with us for a very long time, and that’ll be part of the mix, but also wind, solar, increasingly nuclear, which is what we’ve been discussing this morning, civil nuclear. As we go forward, the most important thing for the United Kingdom is that we have control of our energy and we have energy independence and security, because at the moment, whatever the attributes and facilities in the North Sea that is sold onto the international market, we buy it back off the international market. That was a historic mistake, in my view.
But what we need is a mix so that we get the energy security that we need for the future, and that’s the focus of everything we’re doing.
But what we have discussed today is that the energy prices are too high, which is why we recently took measures to reduce the energy prices, particularly for energy intensive businesses, but in the long run, the only way to reduce your energy prices to take control of your energy, and that’s what we’re doing, taking control of our energy.
Source: OEUK
