Last week, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the party would grant no licences to explore fresh fields in the North Sea if elected, calling a wait until UK oil and gas runs outs a “historic mistake”.
But Gilad Myerson, executive chairman of Ithaca Energy, which has the bulk of its investment in the North Sea, has warned that such a ban and existing taxation policy were putting off investors and threatening energy security.
Myerson said: “By a new government imagining they’ll be able to stop licences and oil development in the UK, ultimately what that means is that they’ll be starving the UK of energy, and it will become very dependent on energy from abroad.
“Politicians keep making statements which spook investors. You have to make sure that the environment is stable because this is a project that will last for 10 years.”
Environmental groups have warned new exploration in the area would see the UK exceed carbon budget limits.
Myerson argued that using...