THE UK’s new Energy Secretary held “constructive” talks with industry leaders as she visited Aberdeen just days after being appointed to the role, according to industry chiefs.
Miatta Fahnbulleh took over from Ed Miliband when Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced his Cabinet after moving into Downing Street this week.
She was in Aberdeen, the home of much of the UK’s oil and gas industry, on Thursday, meeting representatives from Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), formerly Oil and Gas UK.
The organisation’s chief executive, David Whitehouse, said afterwards that choosing the city for her first visit was an “important signal” and recognised the “central role this city and its workforce continue to play in delivering our energy future”.
Whitehouse added that he and Fahnbulleh had “a constructive discussion about the UK’s energy future and the need for a pragmatic approach to the transition” away from fossil fuels.
Prior to Burnham becoming PM, there had been speculation he could be about to overturn Labour’s ban on new oil and gas developments in the North Sea.
Whitehouse said in his meeting with the new Energy Secretary they “spoke about the importance of homegrown energy of all types, continuing at pace with the build-out of renewable energy while also recognising the continuing important role that North Sea oil and gas will play in the UK’s energy mix for the foreseeable future”.
Adding that the talks had provided “clarity” that was “helpful”, the OEUK chief executive said: “What was also clear from the discussion is that this is about more than energy.
“It is about economic development, industrial capability and ensuring the industries and jobs of the future are built here in the UK.
“That means creating lasting opportunities and delivering real economic benefits for communities in Aberdeen and across the country.”
Stressing the need to deliver the “energy, jobs and investment the UK needs”, Whitehouse said: “There is much work to do, but also a real opportunity.”
The SNP MSP for Aberdeen Central, Jack Middleton said: “If the Labour Government want to understand the damage being done to Scotland, the new Energy Secretary’s first visit in Aberdeen today should be the job centre.”
With the industry having been hit with job losses, Middleton added: “Labour Party policy is ruining up to 1000 jobs a month – you cannot claim to be the party of working people when you preside over a level of industrial job losses [Margaret] Thatcher would be proud of.
“There is no moral high ground in destroying Scottish oil and gas jobs only to sponsor those very same jobs in countries half way around the world through carbon intensive imports – all the while the expertise and supply chains we need to deliver our renewables future are lost.
“Andy Burnham talked of a new politics but if his Government continues to treat Scotland’s premier industry as a cash cow while our energy security and net-zero future is put at risk, then we’ll know it’s simply business as usual for the Westminster establishment.”
Protests took place in London this week aimed at Burnham's potential approval of drilling at the Rosebank oilfield.
Rosebank is the UK’s largest undeveloped oil field, and development has been fiercely opposed by climate campaigners who describe the projected 200 million tonnes of CO2 emissions generated as a “carbon bomb”. A final decision will be made by the Energy Secretary in August.
Campaigners have also pointed out that Rosebank’s profits will likely go towards a UN-blacklisted Israeli company contracted to supply fuel to the Israeli military and police.
Ithaca, which holds a 20% stake in Rosebank, is a subsidiary of Israeli energy company Delek Group.
An investigation by The Ferret found that Delek has received more than $1 billion from Ithaca’s North Sea operations since 2020.
