The UK risks accelerating the decline of the North Sea before replacement industries are ready to take its place, Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce has warned.
Its latest Energy Transition report says 93% of businesses believe there is still a future for oil and gas activity in the basin if the UK creates the right fiscal and regulatory conditions.
The findings challenge the political narrative that the North Sea’s future is already settled.
Instead, the Chamber argues the basin’s weakness is being driven by tax instability, slow consenting, planning delays, transmission charging and grid constraints rather than a lack of industrial opportunity.
The report, launched in Aberdeen with sponsors D2Zero and Johnston Carmichael, says investment is continuing to move overseas while the UK struggles to compete for capital, skills and supply chain capability.
It also warns of a growing “transition gap”, where traditional oil and gas work is declining faster than offshore wind, carbon capture, electrification and wider decarbonisation projects are scaling up.
The Chamber said the same workforce and supply chain built around the North Sea will be needed to deliver the next phase of the energy transition.
Russell Borthwick, Chief Executive at Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said: “For several years now, the dominant political narrative has increasingly suggested that the future of the North Sea is already decided. This report tells a very different story.”
He added: “What companies are questioning is not the capability of the North Sea, but whether the UK is still competitive enough to attract the investment required to deliver that future.”
The report found 89% of respondents support new licences and consents where operators can show lower emissions than imported alternatives and deliver greater UK economic value.
It also found 67% believe planning decisions for important onshore grid infrastructure should be made by the Scottish Government rather than local authorities.
The Chamber is calling for a level playing field between domestic production and imported LNG, replacement of the Energy Profits Levy with the Oil & Gas Price Mechanism from 2026, reform of TNUoS charging and faster planning, consenting and grid delivery.
Borthwick said: “You cannot deliver energy security, economic growth and the energy transition while simultaneously hollowing out the industrial base required to achieve all three.”
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