A wave of North Sea job losses has triggered fresh warnings that the UK is jeopardising energy security, investment and its net zero ambitions.
The Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce is calling for urgent action after nearly 600 redundancies were announced in just two weeks, including major cuts at Harbour Energy.
Kerry Smyth, a worker at Harbour Energy, who is among 250 people facing redundancy following the company’s latest cost-cutting announcement, told her side of things:
People are sad, they’re worried, but no one is surprised, 600 that’s 600 livelihoods, mortgages and families – what we want to see from the government is that they actually care about that.”
The Chamber warned this is no blip – it’s a flashing red light for the future of domestic energy.
Public want homegrown power
New polling by Survation shows 68% of UK voters want homegrown oil and gas to meet demand, rather than relying on imports.
Only 27% believe the windfall tax has lowered energy bills, while 62% say it’s failed. When told firms face a 78% tax rate, three times as many think it’s unfair than fair.
The North Sea industry is seen as a net benefit to the economy by a 3:1 margin.
The Chamber said the Energy Profits Levy is throttling investment and damaging supply chains critical to offshore wind, hydrogen and carbon capture.
Brent crude prices have nearly halved since the tax was introduced, yet the levy remains – adding further strain to an already pressured sector.
Donna Hutchison, CEO of local charity Aberdeen Cyrenians, said the region could be blighted with job losses which could fuel more alcholism and child poverty.
“I’m all for a just transition, fair and inclusive, but I’m pretty sure it’s not palatable to anybody in society to accept those risks,” she said.
Labour and SNP must act
The Chamber is urging both UK and Scottish Governments to:
- Convene an emergency summit to halt job losses
- Scrap the windfall tax by the next financial year
- Fully back the Acorn Carbon Capture project
Chamber Chief executive Russell Borthwick said: “We’re watching deindustrialisation in real time. The country didn’t vote for lost jobs, rising imports and higher emissions.”
He warned the UK is becoming a hard place to do business, with patchy policy, rising costs and planning delays deterring investment.
While renewables remain the long-term goal, industry leaders say oil and gas must not be killed off prematurely – or we risks higher emissions, costlier imports and a weakened energy transition.
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