Tony Blair think-tank warns Labour should ramp up North Sea oil and fuel after Middle East disaster as an alternative of obsessing about Net Zero targets

On Mar 13, 2026

Published: 10:50, 13 March 2026 | Updated: 10:57, 13 March 2026

Britain must ramp up North Sea oil and gas production and stop ‘outsourcing’ Britain’s energy security, Tony Blair‘s think-tank insisted today.

The TBI’s energy policy expert Tone Langengen said the Middle East crisis showed the need to minimise the country’s reliance on imports.

The intervention, in an article for the Daily Mail, came as ministers scramble to deal with the fallout from the US-Israeli war against Iran.

Oil prices have been spiking over $100 a barrel, while natural gas costs have also been soaring. The effects are already being felt in UK pump prices, with fears of a looming inflation surge on a swathe of essential goods and services.

Rachel Reeves has been urged to ease the pressure on North Sea operators by lowering taxes and allowing new drilling licences to boost energy production at home.

The Chancellor re-committed to scrapping the so-called ‘windfall tax’ on oil and gas companies in 2027 at a meeting with bosses last week, after criticism she had not acted in the Spring Statement.

The TBI’s energy policy expert Tone Langengen said the Middle East crisis showed the need to minimise the country’s reliance on imports. File picture of a drilling platform in the North Sea

Keir Starmer and Ed Miliband (right) have overseen a ban on exploration licences in the North Sea

The levy has been in place since 2022 in response to record profits following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

However, government sources have also warned about ‘real-time consequences’ of the Middle East chaos for oil and gas prices, saying it is ‘right that we respond to this’.

In her article, Ms Langengen wrote: ‘When missiles fly in the Middle East, energy prices spike. That’s the harsh reality of the world we now live in.’

She said of the ongoing turmoil, which has seen the critical Strait of Hormuz effectively shut: ‘If this continues, it won’t just be numbers on a trading screen. It will mean higher bills, more pressure on businesses and another hammer blow to economic growth.

‘Britain cannot escape global energy markets. We cannot control global prices. But we can decide how much of the energy we rely on is produced at home.’

Ms Langengen said the ‘lesson staring us in the face’ was that ‘energy isn’t just about climate targets’. ‘It’s about national power,’ she added.

She wrote: ‘Right now, Britain already imports about half the oil and gas we use. Without new investment in the North Sea, that could rise to 80 per cent by 2030.

‘And let’s be clear: shutting down production here doesn’t reduce demand overnight. It just means we buy more from somewhere else. That is not a long-term strategy. It’s outsourcing.

‘The North Sea should be treated as the strategic national asset it is. Instead, it has been trapped in uncertainty.’

The energy expert said ending the Windfall Tax would ‘send a clear signal’ that Britain backs ‘long-term investment, competitiveness and energy resilience’.

The government has banned new exploration licences in the North Sea, saying it wanted to be ‘at the forefront of global efforts to tackle the climate crisis’. Ministers have pointed to ‘declining oil and gas reserves’.

Ed Miliband reiterated the position this morning, insisting the ‘one clear lesson’ of the crisis was to ‘get off the fossil fuel rollercoaster’.

‘New exploration licences in the North Sea will not take a penny off people’s bills’ he told the BBC.

But Ms Langengen said that restriction should be ditched. ‘Managed responsibly, new projects can protect jobs and strengthen security while we build the clean energy system of the future,’ she said.

‘None of this means abandoning Net Zero by 2050. Britain should stay committed to cutting emissions. But rather there is a realistic and pragmatic way to do it.

‘We can move towards cleaner energy while recognising that oil and gas remain part of our system – and will for years to come.

‘The choice is not between Net Zero and the North Sea. It is between managing the transition sensibly or making ourselves more dependent on imports.’

Invest in North Sea to ease energy crisis, says Tone Langengen

When missiles fly in the Middle East, energy prices spike. That’s the harsh reality of the world we now live in.

From Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to fresh hostilities involving Iran, energy has become a battlefield. The moment conflict threatens supply, markets react. Global gas prices have already doubled after disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. UK wholesale electricity prices have jumped by around 50 per cent.

If this continues, it won’t just be numbers on a trading screen. It will mean higher bills, more pressure on businesses and another hammer blow to economic growth. Britain cannot escape global energy markets. We cannot control global prices. But we can decide how much of the energy we rely on is produced at home.

The lesson is staring us in the face: energy isn’t just about climate targets. It’s about national power.

So here’s the simple question. Do we want to produce more of the energy we need at home – supporting British jobs and tax revenues – or do we want to import more from abroad, often from unstable parts of the world?

Right now, Britain already imports about half the oil and gas we use. Without new investment in the North Sea, that could rise to 80 per cent by 2030.

And let’s be clear: shutting down production here doesn’t reduce demand overnight. It just means we buy more from somewhere else. That is not a long-term strategy. It’s outsourcing.

The North Sea should be treated as the strategic national asset it is. Instead, it has been trapped in uncertainty.

The windfall tax – officially the Energy Profits Levy – was introduced when prices were soaring and profits were exceptionally high. At the time, that was understandable.

But windfall taxes are supposed to be temporary. Energy markets are always volatile. Today’s spike cannot justify permanent instability in the tax system.

Some operators now face effective tax rates of more than 90 per cent. Around £50billion of investment has reportedly been delayed or cancelled. An estimated 1,000 jobs a month are disappearing across the sector.

Once that investment goes, it doesn’t come back easily. The rigs don’t wait around. The skilled workers don’t either.

The Chancellor has said she intends to end the Windfall Tax. That is welcome. But delivering this is now key.

This sector still supports tens of thousands of high-skilled British jobs. It generates billions in tax revenue. And it faces up to £60billion in future decommissioning costs – a significant chunk of which could ultimately land on taxpayers. Continued investment matters.

Scrapping the windfall tax now would send a clear signal: Britain backs long-term investment, competitiveness and energy resilience.

Government should also rethink the ban on new exploration licences. Managed responsibly, new projects can protect jobs and strengthen security while we build the clean energy system of the future.

None of this means abandoning Net Zero by 2050. Britain should stay committed to cutting emissions. But rather there is a realistic and pragmatic way to do it.

We can move towards cleaner energy while recognising that oil and gas remain part of our system – and will for years to come. The choice is not between Net Zero and the North Sea. It is between managing the transition sensibly or making ourselves more dependent on imports.

Growth depends on private investment. Investment depends on stability. It’s that simple.

In a more dangerous world, weakening our own energy base is a risk Britain simply cannot afford to take.