New gasfields off Yorkshire to be fast-tracked as part of Government dash for gas

The NSTA, the offshore industry’s regulator, has offered 898 "blocks” of the UK’s seabed for oil and gas exploration. Firms can bid for exclusive licences to explore, and potentially recover, any oil or gas they find.

Four key areas in the Southern North Sea off Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk near existing infrastructure, have been identified as priorities. They include the Greater West Sole area, around 70km off the East Yorkshire coast.

The NSTA said they would seek to license those areas ahead of others in the hope they could start production “as soon as possible”, which could be in under five years.

Both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the International Energy Agency, have said there should be no new projects if there is to be any chance of keeping global temperature rises under 1.5C.

However Beverley and Holderness MP and climate minister Graham Stuart described the latest licensing round as "good for the environment".

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, he said: “Actually it’s good for the environment, because when we burn our own gas it’s got lower emissions around its production than foreign gas … as well as supporting British jobs.”

Mr Stuart added: “Our development is not going to affect our usage, our usage is determined by the framework of the Climate Change Act and the independent climate change committee which informs Government policy.

“So, you really can be assured that it’s actually – I know it sounds contradictory – but it’s actually good for the environment that we are going to produce more of our gas and oil at home.”

Companies now have till January 12 to submit their bids.

The trade association Offshore Energies UK argues that newer installations will cut emissions.

It said North Sea gas already has less than half the carbon footprint of imported liquefied natural gas.

Mike Tholen, OEUK’s acting chief executive, said the UK gets 75 per cent of its energy from gas and oil and producing its own reduces vulnerability to global shortages.

Mr Tholen said the industry was committed to net zero – but it was a “journey that will take decades during which we will still need gas and oil”.

Jamie Peters, campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said the Government had to stop pretending that drilling was compatible with its climate committments.

He said: “To claim that more oil and gas extraction is good for the environment would be almost comical if it weren’t so dangerous for our planet. You don’t have to be a climate scientist to know it’s blatantly untrue.

“There’s no using the energy crisis as a justification either – our reliance on expensive and volatile gas is one of the main reasons we’re in this mess.

"Not only will more oil and gas be catastrophic for our climate, it will do near to nothing to lower energy bills.”