Join North Sea workers calling on Government to protect jobs and secure a homegrown energy future

Letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer

Dear Chancellor,

I am extremely concerned about my employment and the long-term prospects of the business I work for, which is a key operator in the North Sea oil and gas sector. Current UK fiscal and regulatory policy has put my current role and future at risk. Energy transition jobs simply do not exist in anywhere near the numbers that are referred to by Government, and do not provide any offset to the rate at which jobs are being removed from the oil and gas industry. Further, the few new energy roles which do exist in the UK are being offered at a material reduction to the terms and conditions associated with traditional North Sea jobs. This is causing material stress for me, my family and my fellow workers, and is adversely impacting the communities in which we live.

You can provide an industrial future for the UK, and for the highly skilled oil and gas workers who currently want to work in the UK and be part of your government’s energy transition ambitions.

We have a simple request for your government. Please provide us with a future in a Just Energy Transition by ensuring the UK fiscal and regulatory regime enables investment in a viable long-term future for the North Sea. This is the only way to facilitate a true transition and bridge the gap until new energy jobs are ready and available.

You have the ability to deliver significant and meaningful change with simple changes which remain in keeping with the Government manifesto.

We implore the Government to:

• Immediately remove the UK Energy Profits Levy and replace it with a fit-for-purpose successor regime which applies windfall taxes only during periods of windfall conditions.
• Reset the mandate of the NSTA to prioritise both the Maximisation of Economic Recovery and the Maximisation of Economic Decarbonisation in the North Sea by removing the OGA Plan implication that a large proportion of North Sea production will cease production by 2030. Only by maximising the benefit of our key natural resources in the North Sea can we expect to fund the next phase of clean energy generation.

Without a thriving UK oil and gas industry, the only option for me and my family will be to seek employment abroad, in a jurisdiction that values homegrown energy production. In such a scenario, the skills and expertise forged over 50 years in the North Sea will deliver a transition elsewhere, with no benefit to the UK or the Exchequer.

Yours sincerely,