BP risks wrath of Ed Miliband by reopening mammoth North Sea field after Donald Trump warned Britain was wasting 'a treasure chest' of oil and gas
The British energy firm is reactivating the Murlach field, 120 miles off Aberdeen, after it was declared uneconomic and taken out of use by previous operator Shell in 2004.
BP said new technology meant the field could be viable again and new equipment has been installed after the previous government agreed that it could be used again.
Production could now begin later this year, infuriating environmental campaigners as the Energy Secretary tries to end new fossil fuel production in the North Sea.
This project is technically not new because it gained approval in 2023 - and the Government has said it will back existing licences such as this one for their duration.
But it comes after Donald Trump hit out at the UK's taxes on North Sea oil while in Scotland last month, saying the resource is a 'treasure chest' for the country.
The US President posted on his Truth Social platform: 'North Sea Oil is a treasure chest for the United Kingdom. The taxes are so high, however, that it makes no sense.
'They have essentially told drillers and oil companies that, 'we don't want you'. Incentivize the drillers, fast. A vast fortune to be made for the UK, and far lower energy costs for the people!'
BP said the field has enough resources for 11 years of production and could produce 20,000 barrels of oil and 17 million cubic feet of gas daily, reported The Telegraph.
But Greenpeace UK's policy director Dr Doug Parr told the Daily Mail: 'The North Sea is on death's door. Reserves are drying up and what's left and untapped is barely enough to keep it on life support.
'Three billion barrels wouldn't last more than a few years at current rates of consumption, and even that assumes it is economic to extract.
'Whatever the political rhetoric, the oil and gas is pretty much gone, and soon, so too will the jobs of thousands of workers.
'Unless we want to remain dependent on overseas imports and watch an entire industry collapse with no plan for workers, the only sensible thing to do is to pivot the North Sea to something we have an abundance of, and something that will never run out – wind.'
A Government spokesman said: 'We are committed to delivering the manifesto commitment to not issue new licences to explore new fields because they will not take a penny off bills, cannot make us energy secure, and will only accelerate the worsening climate crisis.
'We are delivering a fair and orderly transition in the North Sea, with the biggest ever investment in offshore wind and two first of a kind carbon capture and storage clusters.'
The Government has already said it would support 'existing fields to operate for the entirety of their lifetime' and has 'commitments not to revoke existing licences'.
Ministers have also stated that the most accessible oil and gas has already been extracted, with production naturally declining having done so for the last 25 years.
The Government believes the North Sea no longer has the reserves available to support domestic energy demand, and insist they have reformed the Energy Profits Levy to support investment and give industry certainty and stability.
Projections by the North Sea Transition Authority, the Government's oil and gas regulator, in March suggested an annual decline of about 7 per cent for oil and 12 per for natural gas.
The body also expects a 90 per cent fall in oil and net gas production by 2050 compared to last year.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said on August 1 that renewable and non-renewable energy sources are not an 'either-or', describing oil and gas as 'incredibly important for the UK and our energy security'.
Berwick Bank in the North Sea has this week received a green light from the Scottish Government.
The proposed wind farm, off the coast of East Lothian, could add more than 4.1 gigawatts of capacity, which according to developer SSE Renewables is enough electricity to power more than six million homes annually.
But Mr Trump criticised existing wind farms during his visit, when he said: 'When we go to Aberdeen, you'll see some of the ugliest windmills you've ever seen, the height of a 50-storey building.'
Gesturing with his hands, he added: 'You can take 1,000 times more energy out of a hole in the ground this big.'
Conservative shadow Scottish secretary Andrew Bowie has written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, calling for a review of policies affecting the oil and gas industry.
The Daily Mail has contacted BP for comment.
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