Offshore Oil and Gas: Venting and Flaring

Baroness Foster of Oxton Excerpts

Tuesday 28th October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)]

On transparency, the regulator benchmarks performance asset by asset across UK infrastructure for oil and gas rigs, and shares findings with operators to encourage sharing of best practice. The NSTA publishes data publicly on our website on flaring, venting and the methane performance of different assets. We are working in collaboration on that with the rest of the world, considering that we signed up to the World Bank zero routine flaring by 2030 initiative.

[Baroness Foster of Oxton (Con)]

My Lords, while this is clearly a very important element when we look at the oil industry, Petrofac, a major employer in Aberdeen, is going into administration. There are 2,000 employees’ jobs at risk—1,200 offshore and 800 onshore in training and operational roles. The trade unions are seeking clarity from government on wages and entitlements. Has the Secretary of State for the Environment met with the trade unions? What was the outcome? Does the Minister agree that the rush to net zero by this Government is destroying jobs across the United Kingdom?

[Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)]

We have to be careful in what we say about Petrofac. This is an international commercial matter and not related to UK policies or contracts. The company has faced significant challenges that go back several years. It received a significant financial penalty of £77 million, imposed in 2021 by the Serious Fraud Office following a bribery probe. Certain group entities have also been impacted by loss- making contracts.

The UK arm of the company, Asset Solutions, is successful and growing and will continue to operate as normal, including for workers. It is a successful business that is well integrated into the UK supply chain. There will be an orderly process led by the administrators to find a long-term future for the whole of the business, including Asset Solutions. The UK Government are working with all parties to ensure that we do everything we can to secure those jobs. This is a commercial issue, but Asset Solutions, the company in the UK, is a going concern.