Trump calls for end of North Sea ‘windmills’ in swipe at UK energy policy via Reuters
Written by Ron Bousso
LONDON (Reuters) – US President-elect Donald Trump on Friday criticized the British government’s energy policy for wanting the country to “open up” the old North Sea oil and gas basin and wind farms.
The North Sea is one of the oldest offshore oil and gas basins where production has declined slightly since the turn of the millennium. At the same time, it has become one of the largest offshore wind regions in the world.
“The UK is making a huge mistake. Open the North Sea. Abandon the Windmills!” Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
Climate skeptic Trump has long opposed wind farms. In 2015, he unsuccessfully fought plans to build next to his golf course in Scotland.
His post on Friday included a link to a report from last November about APA Corp’s oil and gas producer APA Corp’s Apache plans to exit the North Sea by the end of 2029. The company expects North Sea production to decline by 20% year-on-year by 2025.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor government won last year’s election on a pledge to build Britain’s low-carbon economy. The government aims to quadruple offshore wind capacity by 2030 to 60 gigawatts as part of plans to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality.
In October, the British government said it would increase the tax paid to oil and gas producers in the North Sea to 38% from 35% and extend the tax for one year. The government wants to use oil and gas revenues to raise funds for renewable energy projects.
Oil and gas companies said the higher tax rate could lead to a decline in investment. Some companies sold assets while others consolidated operations and sought to diversify into other regions.
Asked about Trump’s speech, a British government spokesman said he would continue to prioritize “a fair, orderly and successful transition in the North Sea in line with our climate and legal obligations”.
“We need to shift our reliance on stable fuel markets to clean, domestically controlled energy in Britain – the best way to protect ratepayers and increase our energy independence,” said a spokesman.
Claire Coutinho, the energy minister of the opposition Conservative party, said in a post on X in response to Trump’s comments that “no other major economy is shutting down its domestic oil and gas production … It’s absolutely crazy”.
FRESH FUEL, FIRE AIR
Oil companies were pulling out of the North Sea to focus on new fields. Production has fallen from a peak of 4.4 million barrels of oil per day (boed) at the turn of the millennium to about 1.3 million boed now.
Britain and countries in continental Europe are leading the development of offshore wind farms, but growth in the sector has stalled as costs rise due to technical and supply issues and high interest rates.
Some developers have been reconsidering their investments in offshore wind, or considering disruptions, because of the rising costs of building wind farms that can be more than 100 km (60 miles) offshore.
Orsted (CSE: ), the developer of the world’s largest offshore wind farm, scaled back its investment and capacity targets last year.
Britain aims to decentralize its energy sector by 2030, which will mean reducing its reliance on gas-fired power plants and rapidly increasing its renewable energy.
