UK domestic oil and gas production in the North Sea should continue alongside the expansion of offshore wind capacity to secure energy supply, according to an Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) report.
In its Business outlook report 2026, OEUK warns that the UK “urgently” needs to produce its own oil and gas because without it the country risks becoming reliant on “energy imports at a time of rising global instability”.
According to its analysis, oil and gas still supplies around 75% of the UK’s energy needs and is expected to meet around one-fifth of demand by 2050.
David Whitehouse, chief executive of OEUK, said: “This is not an either renewables or oil and gas scenario. We urgently need greater supplies of secure, domestically produced energy including oil and gas, which will remain a critical part of the UK energy system and economy for decades.
“As demand rises and electricity use accelerates, weakening domestic supply would only increase our reliance on imported LNG [liquified natural gas...