Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of foreign state ownership of North Sea drillings rigs on the UK's energy security.

Through the offshore oil and gas licensing approval regime the Oil and Gas Authority considers a range of factors when awarding licences to the operators of offshore oil and gas fields, including ownership, technical competence and financial stability. The Government has also announced it will be introducing tighter controls on ownership of critical infrastructure to ensure the full implications of foreign ownership are scrutinised.