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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether it is his policy to issue any further drilling permits for oil fields in the North Sea.

While the Government is working hard to drive down demand for fossil fuels, there will continue to be ongoing demand for oil and gas over the coming years, as recognised by the independent Climate Change Committee, with the UK expected to remain net importers of both oil and gas throughout the transition.

As a result of the review of future oil and gas licensing announced earlier this year, BEIS will introduce a new Climate Compatibility Checkpoint for all future licences. This checkpoint will be just one additional layer of scrutiny on top of the existing rigorous regulatory processes carried out by the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning, and the Oil and Gas Authority’s own assessment of net zero impacts as part of its consents process. BEIS will be seeking input on the design of the checkpoint in due course.