Anybody know of a company with loads of Gas30 Aug 2022 11:27
Liz Truss will approve a series of oil and gas drilling licences in the North Sea in one of her first acts as prime minister as part of a long-term plan to ensure Britain’s energy security.
Senior allies of the Tory leadership frontrunner have been putting together her response to the energy crisis, with average annual household bills due to rise to £3,549 from October.
Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, and Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Brexit opportunities minister, have been meeting oil and gas companies to negotiate a deal to secure energy supplies this winter. The pair have a two-pronged approach that involves securing more gas from Norway while maximising domestic production.
There is a scramble across Europe for dwindling supplies. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said yesterday that the bloc was preparing to reform the continent’s electricity market.
Kwarteng, who is likely to be made chancellor if Truss becomes prime minister, has led the drive over the past year to increase North Sea drilling. Rees-Mogg is being tipped for the position of business secretary after he was entrusted with helping to develop Truss’s policy on energy. Rees-Mogg held another meeting yesterday with senior executives at Total and Shell.