Britain to award hundreds of licences for oil and natural gas production in the North Sea

Britain will award hundreds of new licences for oil and natural gas production in the North Sea. The British government announced this today in a press release, as it seeks to achieve greater energy independence. It also announced that two hubs bringing together industrial projects and carbon capture and storage facilities will be established in northeast Scotland and at the mouth of the Humber estuary on the North Sea.

“Now more than ever, it is important that we strengthen our energy security and use this independence to supply British households and businesses with more affordable, clean energy,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement.

The prime minister is due to visit a site focused on critical energy infrastructure in the Scottish county of Aberdeenshire today.

The regulator for the oil and gas industry expects the first of the new licences to be awarded in the autumn, the government said.