Amid the war in the Middle East and the sharp focus back on homegrown energy, Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) said that a solution to reducing dependence on fossil fuel imports in an increasingly volatile world is to bet on domestic oil and gas supply and remove barriers to its development.

With the right investment conditions and support for pragmatic energy policies, the UK can meet up to half of that demand from its own resources in the North Sea, OEUK CEO David Whitehouse said.

The alternative is to increase imports, including LNG imports and more natural gas from Norway.

“While LNG provides our energy system with beneficial flexibilities, replacing homegrown natural gas with more LNG is not a good bet,” Whitehouse noted, adding that the Middle East war exposed the constraints to LNG supply from a volatile region.

“A solution is to back homegrown energy. This is not about locking in more oil and gas, but safeguarding from intensifying global competition and geopolitical volatilities,” OEUK’s Whitehouse wrote in The Times.

“It is also about maximising the opportunities of a homegrown energy transition: investment, revenue, jobs and security.”

Referring to the energy profits levy, for which industry has called on the government to review the mechanism, Whitehouse said that the EPL was introduced “as a temporary tax to exceptional market conditions because of Putin’s war in Ukraine but it is eroding investor confidence and future revenues and costing jobs.”

Therefore, OEUK is asking ministers “to bring forward the oil and gas pricing mechanism a permanent, revenue-based tax on UK oil and gas that ensures the industry pays high rates of tax when prices are high but protects and promotes investment when prices are low.”

“This is better for the UK taxpayer, and sends a strong signal that in a precarious world we are depolarising the energy debate and building consensus for a modern industrial Britain, secured by homegrown energy. Let’s grasp the opportunity,” Whitehouse said.

Amid the war, leaders from the UK industry, academia, and civic society are urging the government to strengthen national resilience by prioritising homegrown energy – from oil and gas to renewables – recognising that energy security is national security.

The leaders join manufacturers, renewables developers, offshore operators, and civic groups in calling for a pragmatic approach to building out renewable energy while maintaining the homegrown oil and gas the UK needs for decades to come.

Current projections show by 2030 the UK will rely on LNG from places like Qatar and the US for more than a quarter of its gas and for almost half by 2035 – up from around 14 percent last year, OEUK says.

LNG cargoes are traded globally and are four times more carbon intensive than homegrown gas. They can be diverted away from the UK during periods of high international demand, increasing the risk of price spikes and supply shortages, the leading offshore industry body said.

“This is now the second global energy shock in just four years. It underscores the risks to the UK and across wider Europe of a system that favours increasing reliance on imports – which now make up more than 40% of our energy in the UK,” OEUK’s Whitehouse noted.

“Only by making the most of all forms of domestic production, from oil and gas to our world class renewables sector can we weather the challenges of today and seize the opportunities of tomorrow.”

Elizabeth de Jong of Fuels UK, which represents the nation’s petrol and diesel providers for cars and trucks, commented,

“Without home production, we’ve become a country dangerously exposed to instabilities abroad and would be relying on imports from countries where we have geopolitical concerns.”

The UK, most European countries, Canada, Japan, and other key partners condemned the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the threat to free commercial shipping in the world’s most important oil and LNG chokepoint.

In response to the joint statement, OEUK energy policy director Enrique Cornejo said that the UK offshore energy sector was ready to play its part in boosting supplies.

“The commitment to stabilise energy markets and increase output in ‘certain producing nations’ is also welcome,” Cornejo added.

“As the second largest oil and gas producer in Europe, this should include the UK which must play its part in boosting the supply of energy – bringing forward the Oil and Gas Price Mechanism to increase investment, approving key projects such as Jackdaw and Rosebank, and continuing to expand offshore wind production.”

Separately, new UK‑wide polling commissioned by OEUK showed at the end of March overwhelming public support for using the UK’s own oil and gas resources alongside renewables to strengthen national security, manage overreliance on imports, and ensure stable, long‑term decision‑making on how the sector is taxed.

The research, conducted by Opinium in the middle of March, found that 76 percent of the polled UK adults find it convincing that “because global events can disrupt energy supplies, the UK should continue producing oil and gas at home rather than relying more on imports.”

Moreover, 74 percent said the UK should “produce as much of its own oil and gas as possible rather than rely on imports.”

Forty percent believe the best approach to UK energy security is investing in a balanced mix of renewables and UK oil and gas, compared to just 26 percent who want a renewables‑only approach and 13 percent who want oil and gas only.

The poll also found that 59 percent think oil and gas companies should pay higher taxes when prices are unusually high. But crucially, 67 percent say any windfall tax must be rules‑based, providing clear, predictable certainty about how companies will be taxed.

“People want renewables and UK oil and gas working side by side – not one instead of the other – and they want decisions based on long‑term rules, not short‑term politics,” OEUK’s Whitehouse said, commenting on the poll.

“A rules‑based approach to taxation is part of that stability. It ensures the public receives a fair share in times of genuine windfalls while giving companies the certainty needed to keep investing in UK energy, UK jobs and the UK’s transition.”

In non-war related news from the UK North Sea industry, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) announced at the end of March that it had received bids for more than 2 million acres of seabed at the closure of the UK’s second carbon storage licensing round.

The NSTA is encouraged by the engagement from the licensees from the first licensing round and hopes the second round would help the carbon storage industry grow and build momentum.

The second carbon storage licensing round was launched in December 2025, following close consultation with The Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland, and other seabed users, and was launched after receiving expressions of interest.

The applications in the second licensing round “pave the way for further carbon stores in the UK and highlight the sustained progress in the sector, which has experienced a series of landmark developments in the past few months as existing projects head towards first injection,” the NSTA said in a statement.

The regulator will now move to review and assess the applications received and work with the applicants and other stakeholders before deciding on whether or not to award licences.

“The UK holds a unique position in developing offshore energy in general, including carbon storage. As we transition, we benefit from decades of experience in the North Sea, commercial know-how, optimal geological conditions, and spatial co-ordination,” said Andy Brooks, NSTA Director of New Ventures.

Adura, the new North Sea oil and gas producer created by the combination of Equinor and Shell’s assets in the area, has signed a new seven-year, senior-secured Reserve Based Lending (RBL) facility. This $3-billion facility marks Adura’s inaugural syndicated bank facility since it was formed in December 2025, the company said at the end of March.

The facility “provides the financial strength and flexibility to deliver on our strategic plan and to continue supplying the UK with secure, reliable energy,” Adura’s CEO Neil McCulloch commented.

Adura has interests in ten North Sea producing oil and gas assets – Buzzard, Clair, Gannet, Mariner, Nelson, Penguins, Pierce, Schiehallion, Shearwater, and Victory, as well as in two projects in execution – Jackdaw and Rosebank, and a number of exploration licences.

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