The current spate of fighting in the Middle East has had global repercussions, not the least of which is the spike in energy prices. Energy futures are highly subject to possible disruptions of supply, and Operation Epic Fury has set those markets ablaze. While the spike in prices, which some time back trickled down to the world's gasoline pumps, has been bad, the United States has been, to some extent, sheltered by our increasing domestic supplies.
If you want an example of how this works under leftist politicians, you need only look at the United Kingdom under the leftist Labour Party, where the government's net-zero policies are forcing development companies to leave over a hundred North Sea fields untouched, both new projects and extensions to existing ones.
There are 51 known new fields in British waters that could be feeding domestic pipes but have been rendered “unviable” by current government policies, including the windfall tax and a ban on exploration licences.
On top of these, some 60 extensions to existing fields are being held back for the same reasons, according to trade body Offshore Energy UK (OEUK).
The data emerged from a survey of offshore operators to see how they have responded to the taxes and regulations imposed by successive governments.
OEUK said the fields would be viable under “reform to the current regulatory and fiscal regime”, particularly by overhauling the windfall tax – known officially as the energy profits levy.
David Whitehouse, the trade body’s chief executive, said: “Our proposal will unlock immediate investment, secure tens of thousands of jobs and deliver more tax, not less, for essential services like schools and hospitals.
But that's not what the Labour Party wants. The Labour Party has been busily forcing British homeowners to adopt "smart" electricity meters that wag their fingers if a home is kept too warm. They are pushing solar panels that are of questionable use in notoriously damp, cloudy Britain, along with heat pumps to replace traditional heating in notoriously damp, cloudy, and chilly Britain. But Labour's Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, isn't about what works. Britain's climate scolds have their Birkenstocks on his neck.
Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, is under increasing pressure to relax the Government’s stance on North Sea drilling as the Middle East crisis heightens scrutiny of energy imports.
Along with the Conservatives, John Swinney, the SNP leader and Scottish First Minister, industry leaders including Greg Jackson, the Octopus Energy boss, Chris O’Shea, the British Gas chief and Tara Singh, the RenewablesUK boss, are among those who have backed more drilling.
Supporters say that maximising the North Sea’s output would generate tax revenues, preserve jobs and result in lower carbon emissions than oil and gas from abroad.
However, Mr Miliband has pushed back against the calls, arguing that it cannot “take a penny off bills”.
Yes, you read that right. Ed Miliband, Britain's Energy Secretary, said that increasing supply can't take a penny off bills.
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If the once-Great Britain were the power it once was, not long ago, it would understand that Britain's North Sea oil fields constitute not just an economic boost but also a national security reserve. The single most important thing a country can do to ensure a robust economy is to maintain a stable supply of high-density energy: natural gas, oil, and nuclear power. Britain is going in precisely the opposite direction.
Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, said: “Ed Miliband’s ideological vendetta against the North Sea is making our fields unviable, which will only force Britain to import more gas from Norway – from the very same fields we could be drilling ourselves.
“Let’s get Britain drilling, and use the tax to cut bills.”
Better to cut the tax and let the energy companies pass those savings on, but Claire Coutinho's idea is better than what's happening now.
So on the one hand, you have the Labour Party with Ed Miliband as Energy Secretary, abandoning Britain's ample energy reserves in the North Sea, pushing green energy horse squeeze, happy to watch as regular Brits' energy prices go up. On the other hand, you have the OEUK and Britain's conservatives, noting correctly that the best way to moderate energy prices is to ensure a stable domestic supply - that means, not buying gas from Norway. The UK has more or less 2.9 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) in its North Sea reserves. There may be as much as 10 billion BOE in untapped or prospective reserves.
They should be tapping that, not indulging in "green" energy fantasies.
Drill, baby, drill is working right here in the United States. Anyone from Alaska, Oklahoma, Texas, or any of the other energy-producing states can tell you that. Yes, petroleum and gas are global commodities, and we have seen very plainly in the last few weeks how global prices can be shocked by regional events. But supply and demand still apply, and matters would be worse were supply constrained even further by a failure to develop existing resources.
So, another object lesson in leftist governance. Britain is leaving their ample North Sea oil and gas reserves under the North Sea, untouched, and instead lecturing Brits about their carbon footprints and subsidizing solar panels and heat pumps. Britons are watching their heating bills climb a little more every month, every year. And here, in the United States, the climate scolds and Democrat politicians are looking at the UK's policies with envy.
