Written question asked by Lord Moynihan (Conservative) on Monday, 13 April 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 27 April 2026. It was answered by Lord Whitehead (Labour) on Monday, 27 April 2026 on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
Natural Gas and Oil: Exploration
- Question
-
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of their policy to issue no new oil and gas exploration licences on UK energy import dependency.
- Answer
-
North Sea oil and gas production is in natural decline, with a 75 per cent reduction in production occurring between 1999 and 2024.
While we will manage existing oil and gas fields for their lifespan, the government will not issue licences to explore new fields which would only make a marginal difference to overall production.
The UK became a net importer of energy over two decades ago in 2004.
Given the maturity of the basin, further licensing would not reverse its natural decline, nor change the UK’s status as a net importer of oil and gas.
Secondary information
- Type
- Written question
- Reference
- HL16263
- Session
- 2024-26
- Subjects
- Licensing Exploration Oil Natural gas
- Link
- View this Written question on www.parliament.uk
Librarians' tools
- Timestamp
- 2026-04-27 14:09:22 +0100
- URI
- http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/lords/2024-26/HL16263
- In Indexing
- http://indexing.parliament.uk/Content/Edit/1?uri=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/lords/2024-26/HL16263
- In Solr
- https://search.parliament.uk/claw/solr/?id=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/lords/2024-26/HL16263