UK opens new licensing round for oil and gas exploration

Despite threats of a legal battle from climate campaigners, the UK has opened a new licensing round to allow oil and gas companies to explore for fossil fuels in the North Sea.

More than 100 licenses are being granted to companies hoping to extract oil and gas in the area, according to the North Sea Transition Authority. Nearly 900 locations are being offered for exploration.

The process will run until the end of June and is the first since 2019 -- 2020. The process was near annual before that, but the government put it on hold while it designed a climate compatibility check. The check has been criticised because it is only advisory and does not restrict authorities from granting a licence.

The licensing round faces criticism because it won't solve Britain's short-term problems around potential gas shortages or sky-high bills.

Climate campaigners at Greenpeace said the decision to launch the licensing round was unavoidable and they will be carefully looking at opportunities to take action since Liz Truss became prime minister and she has resisted calls from Labour to extend the windfall tax on oil and gas companies. The chief executive of Shell said governments may need to tax energy companies to help protect the poorest people from soaring bills.

The government argues that the licences will boost Britain's energy security and create jobs.

Philip Evans, an energy transition campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said that this government s energy policy benefits fossil fuel companies and no one else. Supporting the oil and gas giants profiting from the energy and climate crises ignores the speedy solutions that are best for the economy, for lowering bills and for the climate.

Experts have repeatedly made clear that we need warmer, energy efficient homes and a push for cheap, renewable power. The IMF explained yesterday that any delay to decarbonisation makes it much more expensive. A new oil and gas licence won't lower energy bills for struggling families this winter or any winter, nor will it provide energy security in the medium term. Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, said on the announcement: Grotesque now oil and gas licenses won't cut energy bills as fuel gets sold at global prices, it ll drive climateemergency since it adds to global emissions, taking years to come on line won't help energy security. Lucas wrote in the Guardian that the fossil fuel industry was thriving. The average oil and gas discovery takes about five years to come into production, although the NSTA hopes to speed up the award of licences to reduce this to 12 to 18 months in some cases.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, business secretary, is hoping to sign deals with Norway and Qatar to boost gas supplies that would lock Britain into long-term contracts.

The National Grid warned on Thursday that Britons could face rolling three-hour blackouts this winter if gas supplies from Europe are cut and there is sustained cold weather.