UK regulators on Friday began the 33rd round of offshore licences to enable companies to explore for oil and gas, prioritising four areas in the southern part of the North Sea, where gas has already been discovered.
The process, which will run until the end of June, is the first since 2019-2020, when the government promised to design a “climate compatibility check” to ensure that the award of new permits was “consistent with the UK’s wider climate objectives”.
At the time, the check was criticised because it is only advisory and does not restrict authorities from granting a licence, as they have now announced.
In a policy U-turn, the NSTA has confirmed nearly 900 locations are being offered for exploration, with as many as 100 licences set to be awarded in the most recent round, with the goal of bolstering Britain’s energy independence following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Business and Energy Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg has defended the controversial...