The Prime Minister has confirmed that at least 100 new North Sea oil and gas licences will be issued and the Acorn Project at St Fergus, Aberdeenshire, will be funded in a bid to create a major carbon capture and storage scheme.

The Prime Minister highlighted Scotland's place in securing greater energy security, and announced the granting of the new oil drilling on a visit to North East Scotland. Taking a wider view, Rishi Sunak emphasised that the move to net-zero will be a gradual transition, and that the Government is predicting that a quarter of domestic energy needs will still need to come from oil and gas even as the country hits the net-zero target in 2050.

To balance the concerns over the new licences, he was at pains to reiterate the commitment to green policies and the UK’s leading position of, reducing total greenhouse gas emissions by a third (32 per cent) since 2010.

The Acorn project, a joint venture between Shell UK and three other companies, will now go ahead and join two similar Government backed projects in the north of England around the Humber and Mersey.

The package is part of a wider plan to ensure an energy-independent UK, after the disruption caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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