UKCS licensing set to continue
The country’s North Sea Transition Deal will apply new conditions to future drilling permits but allow oil and gas activity to proceed
The London government plans to introduce a new climate compatibility checkpoint before any future UK continental shelf (UKCS) oil and gas licensing rounds “to ensure licences awarded are aligned with wider climate objectives, including net-zero emissions by 2050”, as part of its North Sea Transition Deal announced on Wednesday. The checkpoint “will use the latest evidence, looking at domestic demand for oil and gas, the sector’s projected production levels, the increasing prevalence of clean technologies such as offshore wind and carbon capture, and the sector’s continued progress against its ambitious emissions reduction targets”. But, crucially, E&P will continue. “As long as oil
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