To Drill or Not to Drill? Britain Nears Decision on Aging North Sea Oil Fields.

The British North Sea, once a hub for oil and gas drilling, has faced a quarter-century of declining production, depriving communities along a foggy stretch of Scottish coastline of their economic core.Now applications for two new offshore drilling projects — a lifeline for the region — could be decided by the government in the coming days or weeks.Andy Burnham, Britain’s prime minister, faces a choice with complex economic and political ramifications, no matter what he does.He could approve the projects — known as Rosebank and Jackdaw — and face a potential revolt from powerful clean energy constituencies that strongly oppose more drilling.Or Mr.

Burnham could stop new fossil fuel development in the North Sea and risk sealing the economic fate of the nation’s energy heartland.“It’s a tricky decision for the prime minister,” said Paul de Leeuw, director of the Energy Transition program at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland.The drilling plans have been delayed by policy shifts through successive governments, as well as lawsuits.Mr.

Burnham has signaled that he may support one or both of the projects.The war in Iran has made imported energy more expensive, giving supporters a potent argument for increasing domestic production.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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