Hundreds of North Sea licences granted by Tories ‘produce only 36 days of gas’

A redundant oil platform in the Firth of Forth. Experts say the North Sea is a ‘mature basin’ whose output has declined by 75% since its peak. Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA

Hundreds of licences granted for new oil and gas projects in the North Sea under the Conservatives have so far produced only 36 days’ worth of gas, according to analysis.

Research by the energy consultancy Voar and the campaign group Uplift found that between 2010 and 2024, the government handed out hundreds of new North Sea oil and gas licences in seven licensing rounds.