Government Launches North Sea Future Plan to Drive Clean Energy Transition and Protect Jobs

The government has unveiled the North Sea Future Plan, a sweeping overhaul designed to protect existing workers while transforming the basin into a clean energy powerhouse. 

The strategy sets out how the North Sea will remain productive for decades, ending new oil and gas exploration and shifting the workforce into fast-growing sectors such as renewables, defence and advanced manufacturing.

Ministers said the “era of drift is over,” arguing that declining reserves and the loss of more than 70,000 jobs in the past decade make a managed transition essential to prevent communities from sliding into long-term decline.

The plan enacts on Labour’s manifesto pledge to manage existing fields for their full lifespan while halting new licences for fresh reserves. This places the UK at the forefront of global efforts to align with scientific consensus that new fossil fuel exploration is incompatible with limiting temperature rise to 1.5°C.

To maintain existing assets, the government will introduce Transitional Energy Certificates, allowing limited extra production tied only to current fields and infrastructure. There will be no expansion beyond mapped areas, giving industry clarity on future rules.

Workers are at the centre of the package, with a new North Sea Jobs Service launching next year. The service will provide tailored career support, training routes and real job placements, backed by the Energy Skills Passport and a £20 million UK-Scottish funding pot. 

Ministers described the service as the first national job-to-job programme designed specifically for oil and gas communities, offering clarity on future careers as fossil fuel demand declines.

A minister-led delivery board will oversee the transition, bringing together unions, industry figures and regulators to ensure promises to workers are delivered on the ground.

Clean energy is expected to act as the growth engine of the North Sea. Since July 2024, it has attracted more than £62 billion in private investment, alongside £63 billion in government funding confirmed earlier this year. 

A five-year supply chain plan will map out a pipeline of projects to give companies confidence to invest. Ministers say this industrial strategy could unlock 1.1 million jobs over the next decade, leveraging skills already present in the oil and gas workforce.

Regulatory changes will give the North Sea Transition Authority a new mandate to balance economic value with net-zero goals and the long-term interests of workers and supply chains. The regulator welcomed the plan, saying it brings clarity after years of uncertainty and provides industry with the direction needed to power the next chapter.

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