Donald Trump has reiterated his call for Britain to expand oil and gas drilling in the North Sea, urging Sir Keir Starmer’s government to “drill, baby, drill”.
The US president added that “Aberdeen should be booming” in his latest social media rant aimed at Britain, while repeating his demand for there to be “no more windmills” in Scotland.
The prime minister has been under pressure to rethink his government’s position on oil and gas exploration in the North Sea, as oil prices continue to soar amid tensions in the Middle East.
Prices have fluctuated wildly as Iran and the US have each announced blockades of the Strait of Hormuz. Despite Mr Trump’s insistence that US warships would stop vessels bearing Iranian oil, at least one Chinese tanker sanctioned by the US passed through the chokepoint, shipping data showed.
In a social media post on Tuesday, Mr Trump said the UK could – and should – be producing more oil.
He wrote: “Europe is desperate for Energy, and yet the United Kingdom refuses to open North Sea Oil, one of the greatest fields in the World. Tragic!!! Aberdeen should be booming.
“Norway sells its North Sea Oil to the U.K. at double the price. They are making a fortune. U.K., which is better situated on the North Sea for purposes of energy than Norway, should, DRILL, BABY, DRILL!!! It is absolutely crazy that they don’t... AND, NO MORE WINDMILLS!”
Mr Trump has repeatedly called on Sir Keir to expand domestic oil and gas drilling in the North Sea, having accused the government earlier this year of making it “impossible” for oil companies to develop domestic reserves.
During his state visit to the UK last year, the US president called wind energy an “expensive joke” and urged Sir Keir to exploit the “great asset” of North Sea oil and gas.
It marks Mr Trump’s latest swipe at Sir Keir, as the pair continue to be at odds with each other over the president’s approach to war in the Middle East.
Last week, at a White House Easter event, he likened Sir Keir to Neville Chamberlain, telling reporters that the UK had “a long way to go”.
He also mimicked the prime minister in a recent speech at the White House, and recounted Sir Keir saying he had to ask his team about sending “two old broken-down aircraft carriers” to the Middle East. Last month he made another jibe about Sir Keir, saying he was not Winston Churchill.
The question of whether to allow more drilling for domestic oil and gas in the North Sea has piled pressure on Sir Keir in recent weeks, with calls growing for him to back the Jackdaw and Rosebank fields after Mr Trump’s war sent oil prices soaring.
Last week, Tony Blair called for Labour to expand drilling in the North Sea, saying the war in Iran had exposed the UK’s “structural vulnerability” to global fossil-fuel shocks.
Earlier this month, the government denied that Ed Miliband was expected to give the green light to the first major North Sea oilfield project in almost 10 years. However, chancellor Rachel Reeves said she would be “very happy” to support exploration at the Rosebank and Jackdaw sites.
Oil prices retreated back below $100 (£74) a barrel in Tuesday morning trading, on hopes that negotiations between the US and Iran might be revived, and that an agreement could be reached over the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
A person familiar with Tehran’s deliberations told Bloomberg that the regime is trying to avoid escalation, with negotiating teams said to be urgently working to restart talks in Islamabad.
Limiting the number of Iranian ships crossing the strait for a few days is seen as a possible lever for Tehran to prevent an incident that could undermine talks.
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