Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has considered implementing a methane tax on vented emissions from North Sea oil and gas operators to help incentivise improved (a) capture and (b) use of wasted gas.

The UK has committed to end routine flaring and venting by 2030. The North Sea Transition Authority issues consents for flaring and venting activity with strict limits and uses enforcement action as part of its regulatory toolkit. The UK’s oil and gas sector has one of the lowest upstream methane emission intensities globally and achieved the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative’s 0.2 per cent methane intensity target by 2025, achieving 0.17 per cent in 2020 with a further decrease to 0.13 per cent in 2022.