Building the North Sea’s energy future

The building the North Sea’s energy future consultation requested views and evidence on three aspects of the North Sea energy transition:

• growing our North Sea clean energy industries
• the ongoing role of oil and gas production through the transition
• supporting North Sea workers and communities to transition

Having reviewed the responses received, this North Sea Future Plan sets out how we will achieve the government’s North Sea ambition to be an internationally-leading offshore clean energy industry.

This includes:

• actively scaling up our North Sea clean energy industries
• delivering our commitment to cease issuing new oil and gas licences to explore new fields
• introducing Transitional Energy Certificates to support the commitment to help manage existing oil and gas fields for their lifespan
• providing end-to-end support for the current workforce to access new opportunities, including through a new North Sea Jobs Service to match workers to secure well-paid jobs which will work alongside the Energy Skills Passport
• reforming the North Sea Transition Authority’s powers and objectives
• developing comprehensive support for supply chain businesses and investors, including guidance and a ‘basin-wide plan’ to give greater transparency regarding upcoming activity in the North Sea
• establishing a North Sea Future Board

We received 375 responses to this consultation, as well as a further 504 campaign responses and several petitions, from a wide range of stakeholders, including:

• upstream offshore and onshore oil and gas producers
• renewable energy firms
• companies working in the CCUS and hydrogen sectors
• academics
• trade unions
• environmental groups
• industry groups
• education providers
• community groups
• members of the public