'North Sea oil and gas will be important for decades,' says chancellor Rachel Reeves

Rachel Reeves has said North Sea oil and gas has “an important role to play for many decades to come”.

On a visit to Lossiemouth in Moray on Friday, the UK chancellor said the sector is important for Scotland – and the whole UK – after Donald Trump described the North Sea as a “treasure chest”.

Reeves’ appearance in Scotland followed a five-day visit from the US President, who called on the UK Government to “incentivise the drillers, fast”.

However, the chancellor said renewable and non-renewable energy sources are not an “either-or”.

“The oil and gas sector has an important role to play in the UK energy mix for decades to come,” Reeves said.

“At the same time, we need to invest in the future.”

She pointed to the UK Government’s backing of the Acorn carbon capture and storage project in Aberdeenshire, and the Berwick Bank project – a massive offshore wind project near East Lothian.

“[These projects] will create thousands of jobs in Scotland and power people’s homes with homegrown, renewable energy,” Reeves said.

Although she said oil and gas remain important for the nation, she also doubled down on her energy windfall tax, which energy companies and Tory leaders have said is “killing” the oil and gas sector.

“At a time when energy companies are making huge profits, it is right we ask them to pay a bit more and put that money into our public services, such as the NHS,” Reeves said.

“And parties like the SNP and Conservatives who oppose it, they need to say where they would get the money from. Would they increase the tax on ordinary working people? That wouldn’t be my priority. That’s why we’ve asked energy companies to pay more.”