WATCH: Tory Minister Suggests State Will Seize North Sea Oil From Private Drilling Companies
Welsh Secretary David TC Davies suggested that the government will commandeer oil and gas resources drilled by private companies under its new North Sea licensing arrangement.
The decision to grant new North Sea oil and gas licences is a flagship policy of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s campaign for national energy security and a major play in his net zero roll back.
Davies got into quite a tangle with BBC Question Time host Fiona Bruce who pressed him to explain how the government’s granting of drilling licences to private companies would result in the UK’s energy security, given those companies would sell the fossil resources on the open market.
Explaining the police Davies said: “We can’t just stop using oil and gas overnight. We can decide whether or not we wish to import it from countries across the world, many of which are in quite unstable places, or whether we wish to make use of the oil and gas that lies off our own shores. And in doing so we increase our energy security.”
“How do we increase energy security by doing?” Bruce asked.
“Because there’s a certain amount of oil in gas in the world that’s going to be used and frankly, if it will all go onto an open market… In the worst case scenario, if it’s coming from British shores then Britain can make use of it.
The host interrupted: “But, hang on, hang on, hang on a minute. That’s really important. I generally don’t… I can’t quite grasp this. If the oil or gas is drilled and a private company then decides it’s going to sell it on the open market to whoever it wants to sell it to, how does that help Britain’s energy security? We will surely be in line along with everyone else buying it.”
We will. But I think you’ll find that if we had to, we could make sure that it came into the United Kingdom,” Davies said, to laughter in disbelief by audience and panel members. “For a start it would have to go by the United Kingdom to get out…
“Wait,” Bruce pressed. “Hang on, you would make… This is important, you would force the company to sell, the private company, in order to sell it to us in a time of need?”
Davies replied: I’m not getting into a hypothetical…”
“Well, you said it would increase our energy security, I’m just trying to understand it,” Bruce said.
