Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had recent discussions with his Norwegian counterpart on (a) the Northern Lights project and (b) the viability of emulating their non-pipeline transport of carbon dioxide in the UK.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 7th May 2025, the Secretary of State met with Minister Aasland, his Norwegian counterpart, on the occasion of signing a Green Industrial Partnership with the Norwegian Government. This recognised the importance of continued collaboration on Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS), including a commitment to initiate work to identify gaps and challenges to the development of our common North Sea as a hub for carbon storage. Sharing knowledge from current projects, including the Northern Lights CCS project, will play an important role.
Our recently published Industrial Strategy: Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan emphasised how the UK’s favourable geology offers capacity to safely store up to 78 billion tonnes of CO2 and the potential to offer international CO2 storage services. Non-pipeline transport, especially the transport of CO2 via ship, will help maximise this geological potential.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to help ensure that levels of (a) oil and (b) gas production from existing fields are maintained.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has committed to maintaining existing fields for their lifetime. Earlier this year, the Government consulted on ‘Building the North Sea’s energy future’, including proposals not to issue new licences to explore new fields and to partner with business and workers to manage existing fields for their lifespan. A Government response to the consultation will be published in due course.
Oil and gas production efficiency is monitored by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA). The NSTA publishes a UK Continental Shelf Production Efficiency dashboard on its website
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what his Department's planned timetable is for (a) making and (b) announcing its decision on whether Mingyang Smart Energy will be permitted to supply turbines for (i) Green Volt and (ii) other wind projects.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The suppliers that offshore wind projects use are a commercial decision for the company involved. As an open economy, we welcome foreign trade and investment, including from China, where it supports growth and jobs in the UK, meets our stringent legal and regulatory requirements, and does not compromise our national security.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions he has had with the North Sea Transition Authority on its statutory duty to maximise the economic recovery of oil and gas in the UK Continental shelf.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of Ministers’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to future-proof the carbon capture and storage industry.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is working to create a CCUS industry and has provided increased support to UK CCUS by allocating £9.4 billion in capital budgets over the Spending Review period.
The Government has announced its support for the Acorn (Scotland) and Viking (Humber) clusters and is providing the development funding to advance their delivery. A final investment decision (FID) will be taken later this Parliament, subject to project readiness and affordability.
The Government is actively engaging industry on key enabling CCUS policies to ensure we can build the longer-term pipeline of projects that in turn will grow the economy, contribute to the Clean Power Mission and is done at lowest cost to reach Net Zero.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to allow captured carbon to be delivered by ship to its final storage location.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises that non-pipeline methods of CO2 transportation (for example, road, rail, barge and ship) will play an integral role in achieving decarbonisation across multiple regions and sectors of the economy, to meet our carbon budget targets and net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Non-pipeline transport (NPT) will be required where it is not technically or economically feasible to connect to a CO2 storage sites via a pipeline.
The Government intends to publish an NPT consultation later this year which will include seeking views on support for NPT costs, risk allocation and economic licensing.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much were constraint payments to wind farm operators in Great Britain (a) in total and (b) for each month between 1 April 2024 and 30 April 2025.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is responsible for operating Great Britain’s electricity system, which includes managing constraints. The NESO publishes daily constraint costs here: Constraint Breakdown Costs and Volume | National Energy System Operator. Data is not available on the split of costs between different types of generators.
Constraints are a natural part of operating an efficient electricity system and electricity systems around the world use the constraint payment model. Government is working to reduce constraints and enable a more secure energy system by accelerating the build of electricity network infrastructure to increase capacity.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many days was more than 10 per cent of UK electricity demand imported between 1 November 2024 and 30 April 2025.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not record daily electricity demand or import data. Half-hourly figures for electricity demand and import for Great Britain’s public distribution system are available from the National Energy System Operator (NESO) data portal. Quarter-hourly figures for Northern Ireland’s electricity demand from the public distribution system are available from EirGrid.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, on how many days were wholesale electricity prices in excess of £150 per megawatt hour during winter 2024-25.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC) publishes this data. It is available here:
https://dp.lowcarboncontracts.uk/dataset/imrp-actuals
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what information his Department holds on the (a) onshore and (b) offshore workforce in the North Sea oil and gas sector in (i) July 2024 and (ii) March 2025.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not hold its own estimates for the offshore or onshore North Sea oil and gas sector workforce. According to ONS data[1], direct jobs in oil and gas extraction fell by around a third between 2014 and 2023, despite ongoing domestic licensing and production.
As Britain becomes a clean energy superpower, the Government is determined to create new high-quality jobs to ensure a phased and responsible transition in the North Sea.
This is vital for delivering the best outcomes for workers and communities, energy security, and sustainable economic growth.
[1] ONS Business Register and Employment Survey