It would be ‘mad’ to close down oil and gas production now, minister tells MPS as he accuses SNP of being ‘anti-north Sea’
Closing down North Sea oil and gas production now would be "mad", a minister has told the Commons as he urged sticking to the transition deal to reduce emissions.
Business minister Greg Hands was speaking in the House of Commons, where he criticised the SNP for being "anti-north Sea".
He was responding to a question from Conservative David Duguid, MP for Banff and Buchan, who asked the minister to confirm the government's support for the oil and gas sector and "their vital role in driving the energy transition to net zero".
Mr Hands said: "We have a North Sea transition deal. The important thing is transition. It is not our objective – it would be mad, particularly at this time of high elevated gas prices – to do anything to close down the North Sea.
"I think we should stick to the transition deal, support our key oil and gas sector in the North Sea, and absolutely reject a lot of the politics coming out of the SNP which has turned to be anti-north Sea."
The government announced a "North Sea transition deal" in March, which includes targets for the oil and gas sector to reduce emissions over the next decade, and up to £16 billion of Government and private investment in cleaner energy technology to support jobs and cut pollution.
Also in the Commons yesterday, SNP Westminster spokesman for business and energy, Stephen Flynn, accused the UK government of failing to meet the needs of Scottish businesses.
Speaking during a session of questions to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Mr Flynn said: "Scottish renewables projects continue to pay the highest level of grid charging anywhere in the entirety of Europe."
He said an operator recently told him that over the lifespan of one project the operator anticipated they would pay £1 billion of grid charges, while a project in East Anglia would not pay anything.
Mr Flynn asked: "Is that a union of equals?"
Mr Hands responded: "[The energy regulator] of gem recognises the importance of transmission charging arrangements, which is why they are currently considering responses to their call for evidence on transmission charging reform ."