The UK’s reliance on foreign energy supplies has hit a record high as oil and gas production in the North Sea is hammered by the windfall tax.
Britain imported almost 41% of its energy in 2023, up from 37% a year earlier, as producers struggle to generate sufficient power from renewable sources and multiple ageing nuclear power stations face shutdowns.
At the same time, total domestic energy production, including oil, gas and electricity, fell by 8.3% to a record low.
The UK gets about 77% of its total energy from oil and gas, a level that has remained roughly constant for over a decade despite political pledges to reduce it.
Nevertheless, the new Labour Government is hell-bent on ending North Sea exploration and has been accused of seeking to tax the North Sea into oblivion.
Earlier this week, Chancellor Rachel Reeves extended the Energy Profits Levy for two further years until the end of March 2030, while increasing the headline rate from 75% to 78%.
This week Shell and ExxonMobil announced they were reducing their exposure to the UK by selling all their gas fields and other assets in the southern North Sea. Other projects have also been put on hold.
Offshore Energies UK said the new taxes announced this week would drive out investment even faster, and Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce warned that the government was putting tens of thousands of jobs at risk, while driving up reliance on foreign energy.
Russell Borthwick, chief executive at Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce said: "This is an emotive subject – and one of paramount importance – so we need to navigate it with the facts. And the simple fact is that 77% of the energy we use comes from oil and gas.
"I have yet to see one piece of evidence that shows me how importing the energy we need from other countries will reduce emissions.
"Our domestic oil production has already halved since 2000 and it will fall by another 80% from today’s already reduced levels over the next decade if we don’t see new developments coming on-stream.
"That leaves us more reliant on imports – some which carry up to four times the carbon footprint of North Sea gas. It's time for some common sense to enter this debate."