Energy security is not a slogan, it is a (missing) strategy

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney issued a warning that should resonate far beyond the conference halls of Switzerland.

Energy security, he argued, can no longer be outsourced to global markets or deferred to future technologies. Countries that fail to take control of their energy systems will find themselves exposed economically, geopolitically and industrially.

That message is especially relevant to the UK – and nowhere more so than in the North Sea.

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For decades, the North Sea underpinned Britain’s energy security, supported hundreds of thousands of high-value jobs and provided the revenues that funded public services. Even today, oil and gas continue to meet the majority of the UK’s energy demand, while the sector’s supply chain plays a growing role in emissions reduction, electrification, hydrogen and carbon capture.

Nicola MacLeod is General Counsel and Director of Corporate Affairs at Aberdeen-headquartered D2Zero, which employs more than 4,000 people across the globe. | Contributed

Yet at precisely the moment when other countries are acting decisively to secure domestic energy capability, the UK’s approach remains hesitant and fragmented.

To be clear, this is not a case of inaction. The UK Government would rightly point to the Hamburg Declaration, agreed with nine European partners this week, as evidence of progress.

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The plan to develop a shared offshore wind grid in the North Sea – effectively turning it into a clean energy reservoir – is a landmark step. Greater cooperation on renewables, interconnectors and cross-border infrastructure will strengthen electricity resilience and support long-term decarbonisation.

But energy security is not delivered by one pillar alone. Offshore wind strengthens future power supply; it does not remove the need for secure domestic oil and gas production during the transition, nor does it address the immediate risks created by policy instability in the basin today.

Energy security is a system-wide challenge. Electricity is only one part of total energy demand. Wind generation does not fuel heavy industry, provide petrochemical feedstocks or support the full spectrum of energy needs overnight. If domestic production declines faster than demand, the gap does not disappear – it is filled by imports, often with higher lifecycle emissions, weaker environmental standards and greater geopolitical risk.

This is the paradox at the heart of current UK policy. In the name of climate ambition, we are weakening a domestic industry that could – and should – be a platform for transition, while increasing reliance on overseas energy.

At D2Zero, our companies Score, Hydrasun and nexos Group, are focused on cutting emissions and accelerating the shift to lower-carbon energy systems whilst also servicing the oil and gas market. But transition requires control. You cannot decarbonise an energy system you no longer influence. Nor can you build resilience while discouraging investment, eroding supply chains and driving skilled workers out of the sector.

Other countries understand this. Canada, the US and Norway are explicitly linking energy policy to national resilience. They are investing in domestic capability, backing their supply chains and setting stable, long-term frameworks that crowd in private capital. They recognise that decarbonisation and energy security are not competing objectives, but mutually reinforcing ones when managed strategically.

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In the UK, by contrast, unpredictable fiscal policy and mixed signals have created chronic uncertainty in the North Sea. Investment decisions are being delayed or cancelled. Jobs and expertise are being lost. And with them goes the very capability needed to deliver offshore wind, hydrogen and carbon capture at scale.

Mark Carney spoke in Davos about the danger of “living within a lie” – repeating comforting narratives long after they have ceased to be true. One such narrative is that energy security will take care of itself. Another is that the transition can be delivered without difficult trade-offs or clear choices.

The North Sea needs realism. A managed transition means recognising that oil and gas will remain part of the energy mix for decades, and that producing it responsibly at home is preferable to importing it. It means providing fiscal and regulatory certainty so businesses can invest, workers can plan, and communities can adapt.

The Hamburg Declaration is a step in the right direction. But it cannot be the end of the conversation. Energy security requires a coherent strategy that spans renewables, oil and gas, infrastructure, skills and supply chains. Undermining one part of the system weakens the whole.

Energy security is not a slogan. It is a strategy. And in a world that is becoming more volatile, more fragmented and more competitive, countries that fail to seize the initiative will not be forgiven – by markets, by workers, or by the public they serve.

Nicola MacLeod is General Counsel and Director of Corporate Affairs at Aberdeen-headquartered D2Zero, which employs more than 4,000 people across the globe.