Energy policy and the lies in the media ?

[The Light Was Yellow Sir]

Which party would you vote for to get this? Only one party is arguing to drill for more oil and gas (whether nationalised or not) and that's Reform...

Unfortunately nationalisation has nothing to do with it. For 20 years we have chosen to be virtuous instead of taking advantage of the resources available. Gas was once very cheap and so it became the main electricity source alongside eliminating coal. Gas prices unfortunately increased massively during COVID and the Ukraine War.

Labour, Greens and Lib Dems are pushing for renewables and decreased dependency on oil/gas which is great but it means that we have to accept high energy prices and decreased energy security for now. It also means that the money that could be earnt from oil/gas (as Norway has) will eventually go down to nothing as we won't produce anything.

Over 80% of the oil produced in UK waters is exported, so I’m not sure how that increases our ‘energy security’.

 

[We've got Guardiola]

Over 80% of the oil produced in UK waters is exported, so I’m not sure how that increases our ‘energy security’.

A lot of that oil drilled out of the North Sea is the wrong type for our refineries so it's exported but that's purely for efficiency and profit purposes. We could change our refineries and the whole process however the government has no appetite to do anything remotely like it because of climate reasons.

It's easier to import the most ideal form of crude for our refineries and that's what we do and will continue to do. The problem of course is that process means we are completely dependent on the stability, availability and price of imports which is now being exposed by what's happening in the east.

 

[The Light Was Yellow Sir]

A lot of that oil drilled out of the North Sea is the wrong type for our refineries so it's exported but that's purely for efficiency and profit purposes. We could change our refineries and the whole process however the government has no appetite to do anything remotely like it because of climate reasons.

It's easier to import the most ideal form of crude for our refineries and that's what we do and will continue to do. The problem of course is that process means we are completely dependent on the stability, availability and price of imports which is now being exposed by what's happening in the east.

Nobody is spending upwards of £15B to increase refinery capacity in the UK, especially as it now costs about $30 to get a barrel of oil from the North Sea seabed. It costs about $7 a barrel to do the same thing in the Middle East, so the perceived economic benefit is really non existent.

There are several reasons for this, including the fact that most of the large, easy-to-reach reserves have already been exhausted, while those that remain are significantly harder to access, more expensive to exploit, and capable of delivering smaller returns. Not only that, even if it was economically viable, it will only produce a fraction of what we need, therefore the reliance on imports will continue to rise, unless we can wean ourselves off.