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Environment
Mar 31, 2026

Former Military Leaders Say North Sea Drilling Won’t Secure UK Energy, Urge Rapid Renewable Shift

AI Summary
Retired senior military officials argue that expanding North Sea oil and gas production will not improve the United Kingdom’s energy security. Citing a new E3G analysis on global supply‑chain chokepoints, they call for an accelerated transition to wind, solar, tidal and nuclear power, coupled with grid renewal and greater efficiency, as the only durable path to sovereign energy resilience.

More drilling in the North Sea will not enhance the UK’s energy security, a group of former senior military leaders told The Guardian on Monday, as the Conservative Party’s energy minister Kemi Badenoch launched a campaign to revive offshore oil and gas licences.

The veterans, including retired Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti, a climate‑security professor at University College London, warned that extracting the remaining hydrocarbons “is not the answer” to the country’s rising energy costs and geopolitical vulnerability.

Morisetti emphasized that global market forces, not domestic production, set fuel prices and that reliance on imports leaves the UK exposed to “structural chokepoints” such as the Strait of Hormuz or insurance withdrawals.

He urged the government to focus on a rapid transition to a diversified mix of wind, solar, tidal and nuclear power, alongside a major renewal of the electricity grid and expanded storage capacity.

A recent E3G think‑tank report supports this view, stating that “structural chokepoints” in oil and gas supply chains mean that increasing fossil‑fuel output anywhere does not improve national security. The report highlights that reducing reliance on imported hydrocarbons through electrification, efficiency, and domestic clean energy offers the most durable protection against supply shocks.

Maria Pastukhova, senior policy adviser at E3G, explained that while clean‑energy systems are not immune to disruptions, they shift control “under domestic ownership,” lowering exposure to geopolitical and market volatility.

Data cited by the report show that the North Sea is a “mature basin” whose output has fallen 75 % since its peak. New licences granted between 2010 and 2024 have produced only 36 days of gas, according to research by the Uplift campaign and consultancy Voar, underscoring the limited impact of further drilling.

Retired Lt Gen Richard Nugee compared the UK’s situation to recent developments in Spain, where electricity prices are increasingly set by renewables rather than fossil fuels, reducing dependence on vulnerable chokepoints.

He argued that “going for renewables gives greater independence, greater sovereignty, less vulnerability to attack and more opportunity,” contrasting it with the finite and externally‑controlled nature of gas supplies.

Experts such as Khem Rogaly of the Transition Security Project warn that reliance on “expensive and volatile fossil fuels” makes British households vulnerable to shocks from global conflicts, including US‑led oil wars.

James Meadway, director of the Verdant think‑tank, added that the war in Iran has revealed the fragility of large, centralized power systems to both kinetic attacks and cyber‑threats, reinforcing the case for a more distributed energy architecture.

In sum, the former military leaders and independent analysts concur that the only credible route to lasting UK energy security lies in **accelerating renewable deployment, improving efficiency, and modernising the grid**, rather than expanding North Sea drilling.