MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK Labour has plans to relax restrictions on oil and gas drilling in the North Sea

Chancellor Rachel Reeves should announce the publication of the strategy as part of her Budget speech. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will release a document on it shortly after

London media reports indicate that the UK Labour Government has Plans to relax restrictions on new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea, the proposition should be announced this Wednesday under the government's North Sea Strategy.

Apparently Chancellor Rachel Reeves will announce the publication of the strategy as part of her Budget speech. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will release a document on it shortly after.

The strategy is expected to confirm the government is relaxing its moratorium on new drilling for oil and gas in a form in which it can argue the new areas are extensions of existing infrastructure.

This idea for allowing new drilling in a way that can be “tied back” to existing fields was first floated at the Labour conference in September.

There has also been speculation that the windfall tax of 78% - due to expire in 2030 - might be phased out earlier.

The results of the North Sea review will not directly reference the decision being considered by ministers over whether to give the go ahead to the controversial Rosebank field, which Ed Miliband was vocally opposed to while in opposition.

That project is the subject of a separate and ongoing regulatory and judicial process. However, the wider relaxation in rules is widely thought to increase the chances Rosebank will ultimately be approved.

Tiebacks have historically been used for small remote extensions to existing oil and gas fields which geologically stray into currently unlicensed areas of seabed.