Prime Minister visits North East Scotland

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will visit the North East of Scotland on Friday, highlighting that it is only the UK Government that has consistently shown it will protect, back and promote the North Sea oil and gas industry and the 200,000 UK-wide jobs it supports – including over 90,000 in Scotland alone.

The Prime Minister will meet with energy sector business leaders and employees from firms involved in the supply chain, supporting both the wider energy sector and the UK’s transition to net zero.

Ahead of his trip, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

“Scotland has an abundance of ingenuity, talent and hard-working people, people who are at the core of our United Kingdom’s success.

“That is why my government remains steadfast in its support of the 200,000 high quality UK jobs that depend on our North Sea oil, gas and energy sector - with nearly half of those jobs in Scotland alone.

“I will continue to back the industry so we can build a brighter, greener future for Scotland. 

“We have a plan to transition to net zero and my government will always take the right long-term decisions to ensure that we do so in a pragmatic and proportionate way, that doesn’t burden hardworking Scottish families.

“Proving once again, only the Conservatives can be trusted to protect Scottish jobs and livelihoods.

“I will always stand up for our country, our United Kingdom.”

The Prime Minister will be joined by the Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho and Secretary of State for Scotland Alister Jack, demonstrating the strength of the UK Government’s commitment to bang the drum for the industry. An industry that’s not only critical in protecting our energy security but critical in creating jobs and protecting our financial security - giving Scottish families the peace of mind we can build a brighter future.

The UK Government has a consistent record in boosting the UK’s energy security by:

• Introducing the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, which will help create certainty for the UK’s oil and gas industry, encouraging investment, helping to support our energy transition, and boosting our energy security.
• Supporting the North Sea Transition Authority’s 33^rd oil and gas licensing round, which opened in October 2022 with 51 licences awarded so far, and more due to follow in the coming months.
• Backing the approval of the Rosebank oil field development with a direct investment of over £8 billion to provide, according to Equinor estimates, nearly 1,600 jobs at the project’s peak.
• Investing in the UK to become a world leader in carbon capture, backed by an unprecedented £20 billion, and are accelerating development of this vital technology as part of our greater efforts to increase energy security - allocating the Scottish cluster over £40 million in development funding in recent years.
• Through our landmark North Sea Transition Deal agreed between the UK Government and industry, backing the decarbonisation of the oil and gas sector while supporting 200,000 jobs across Scotland and the wider UK, ensuring high-skilled workers are not left behind in the transition to a lower-carbon future. This agreement commits the offshore oil and gas sector to reducing emissions from operations to 50 per cent of 2018 levels by 2030 - with emissions already falling by 23 per cent by 2022.