AN ENERGY chief has threatened to bring rig shutdowns forward by a decade due to Labour’s plan for no new oil and gas in the North Sea.
Amjad Bseisu, warned that a ban on new licenses would increase the risk of early closures for Enquest’s Magnus and Kraken platforms.
Sir Keir Starmer’s party has vowed to block any new licences in the North Sea should they come to power.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Bseisu said: “If the Government (under Labour) said there’s no new field licences, it would be economically senseless.
“It will exacerbate the decline of the industry and actually exacerbate the costs to the taxpayer, because we will have to decommission everything sooner rather than later.
“You drill a well and the well declines. Without drilling another well to extract further production, decline rates will be exacerbated.
“And once you get to a certain level in a field, it becomes uneconomic and you have to go to decommissioning. I would assume, in many cases at least, a decade acceleration in field life.”
But Labour continues to insist that a ban on new licences is the right move.
A party spokesman said: ““Labour is proud of our close working relationship with the oil and gas industry.
“Shadow energy secretary Ed Miliband and Labour leader Keir Starmer visited Aberdeen in November 2023 for discussions that were praised by leading industry figures.
“Unlike the Conservatives, whose own Energy Bill has been criticised by the industry and led to one of their MPs resigning, Labour has an industry-backed plan to deliver energy security for our country.”
