Net-zero ‘not a platitude’ for oil and gas sector

The head of the oil and gas regulator says cutting the sector’s carbon emissions is not “a platitude or a soundbite” but presents significant commercial benefits.

Stuart Payne, who leads the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), told BBC Scotland News the energy transition was “well underway” and has been “for decades”.

His remarks follow a pledge by UK Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch to rid the NSTA of the net-zero “burden” and task it with the sole job of maximising oil and gas production.

Mr Payne said about half of the £100bn expected to be invested in the North Sea over the next few years will be in alternative energies like carbon capture and storage (CCS) and floating wind.

The Conservative leader addressed the huge Offshore Europe conference in Aberdeen later, where around 35,000 delegates will gather for the next four days.

Badenoch said the UK is “sabotaging” itself and that “families, communities, entire towns could be wiped out.”

She promised to scrap the net-zero compatibility tests that come with oil and gas permitting, adding that “we will judge… on one metric alone – how much oil and gas they produce.”

She said there would be no more “judicial overreach … because a judge is persuaded by a pressure group”.

She ended her speech by saying Conservatives will “not be bullied by activists” and “will not surrender Britain’s future.”

The conference is a showcase for the sector where multi-million pound deals are agreed between the supply chain and operators.

Over recent years, the event has pivoted towards alternative energies.

Stuart Payne said the NSTA’s focus on green technologies has already delivered a 34% cut in emissions from producing oil and gas.

However he said there was “much more to do.”

He added: “The words we use matter. How we talk about this industry, whether that’s in the wind side, whether that’s in CCS, in oil and gas, in decommissioning, it matters.

“And it’s vital that we do everything we can to ensure that we’re attracting and retaining investment in all of those things.”

He said it was “not a good thing” for his organisation to be treated like a political football and that “how we talk about this industry” is important.

“The net zero opportunity for the UK is not something that is a platitude or a soundbite,” he added.

“There are real, very significant, commercial benefits for the UK from the projects around net-zero.”

Originally called the Oil and Gas Authority, the regulatory body was renamed by the UK Conservative government in 2022 to reflect its growing role in the wider North Sea energy industry.

The NSTA’s job is to “regulate and influence the oil and gas, offshore hydrogen, and carbon storage industries” as well as holding the sector to account on reducing its operational emissions.

But Kemi Badenoch says she would rename it the “North Sea Authority” with a mandate to “maximise the extraction of our oil and gas.”

Oil and gas production in the North Sea has been in decline for more than 25 years since it peaked in 1999.

Three years ago, an energy profits levy – or windfall tax – was introduced when prices spiked, taking the headline rate of tax on profits to 78%.

The industry has been lobbying for the tax to be cut and says up to a thousand jobs a month are being lost because of the pressures it is under.

It also wants a more “pragmatic” approach to exploration licensing than the UK Labour government’s blanket ban introduced last year.

A government consultation is currently examining the future shape of the North Sea.

Tessa Khan from the environmental campaign group Uplift said the UK has already burned most of its oil and gas.

She added: “The idea we can unleash a golden age of oil and gas is a tired gimmick that’s been tried by Badenoch’s predecessors and flopped.

“The North Sea is a mature basin with dwindling oil and gas reserves.

“It’s like a piñata at the end of a kids party – it doesn’t matter how many times you hit it, you’re not going to get much more out of it.