Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

LNG Emissions: Impact of Oil and Gas Licences

Tuesday 16 April 2024 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • North Sea Transition Authority analysis indicates domestic natural gas production is almost four times cleaner than importing liquefied natural gas from abroad.
  • Tom Hunt supports the pragmatic use of domestic natural resources to cut carbon emissions, drive down energy costs, and boost energy security.
  • Caroline Lucas notes most UK gas imports come via pipeline from Norway, where production is less polluting than in the UK, and questions the climate impact of new oil and gas licences.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Tom Hunt
Climate Energy
Context

The MP is concerned about the potential impact of issuing oil and gas licences by the Department, specifically focusing on the level of carbon emissions from imported liquefied natural gas.

Question

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the number of oil and gas licences issued by her Department on the level of carbon emissions from imported liquefied natural gas?

Answer from Justin Tomlinson

North Sea Transition Authority analysis shows that producing natural gas domestically is almost four times cleaner than importing liquefied natural gas from abroad. Without continued licensing, our dependence on imported oil and gas, including LNG, will only increase more quickly in the future.

Answered
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Q2 Tom Hunt
Climate Energy
Context

The MP supports the utilisation of domestic natural resources as a pragmatic approach towards reducing carbon emissions, while also prioritising low energy costs, energy security, and maintaining competitiveness on the global stage.

Question

I have always been a fan of us fully exploiting our natural resources. We have got to take a pragmatic route to cutting our carbon emissions, but at the forefront of our thinking must also be driving down energy costs, boosting energy security and not doing anything that enfeebles our country on the global stage. Does the Minister agree that this is the right approach in terms of energy costs and that not importing as much liquefied natural gas will also make our carbon footprint smaller?

Answer from Justin Tomlinson

I completely agree with my hon. Friend's analysis. Utilising our own domestic resources is just common sense when the alternative is to import more fuels from abroad. It would be an act of self-sabotage to put restrictions on our own domestic sector, damaging jobs and investment only to liquefy and ship gas from halfway around the world and create more emissions in the process.

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Q3 Caroline Lucas Green
Climate Energy
Context

The MP welcomes the Minister to his post but raises concerns about licensing new oil fields like Rosebank, arguing it would be detrimental to both climate goals and public finances.

Question

I welcome the Minister to his post, but he will know that most of our gas imports are not LNG and that they actually come via a pipeline from Norway, where gas production is half as polluting as it is in the UK. New oil and gas would not only be disastrous for our climate; it would also fail to boost energy security. Following the welcome announcement that the UK will finally withdraw from the energy charter treaty, will the Government also reverse their decision to license the Rosebank oil field, which will cost the climate and the public purse extremely dear?

Answer from Justin Tomlinson

I thank the hon. Member for her kind comments. While we scale up our clean energy success, including in renewables, which have gone from 7% to 40%, there is still a need for oil and gas. A failure to issue a new licence would make no difference to the consumption of oil and gas, but it would increase imports, which typically have higher emissions, and also damage our economy.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister did not directly address whether the decision to license Rosebank oil field will be reversed.

How: While We Scale Up Our Clean Energy Success, A Failure To Issue A New Licence Would Make No Difference To The Consumption Of Oil And Gas, But It Would Increase Imports

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