Miliband denies avoiding oil and gas sector

The UK's energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has denied avoiding the UK’s oil and gas sector for more than 100 days since Labour came to power.

Speaking on a visit to Aberdeen, the minister said he was "delighted" to be in the city for the first time since his government was elected in July.

He said the government's decision to base a new state-owned company, GB Energy, in the north east of Scotland was a “vote of confidence” in the area's workforce.

Miliband told BBC Scotland News he was speeding up the delivery of a plan with both the Scottish government and industry to support oil and gas workers move renewables jobs.

He met representatives from the oil an gas sector during his current trip to Scotland.

On a visit to an offshore energy innovation centre, he also vowed hundreds of jobs at GB Energy would be based at its Aberdeen headquarters.

However, the Labour minister warned that the UK government would have to make "difficult decisions" in the upcoming budget, with the chancellor warning of a £22bn "black hole" in public finances.

The UK government has pledged to invest £8.3bn in GB Energy - which will help fund new and existing clean technology - over the course of this parliament. That is expected to be raised through a windfall tax on oil and gas firms.

Visiting Aberdeen - the UK's oil and gas capital, Miliband was asked if he had been avoiding the North Sea sector since July.

He told BBC Scotland News: “Absolutely not. I’m delighted to be here talking about how GB Energy, a new publicly owned energy company, is going to be headquartered here in Aberdeen.

“It is a vote of confidence in the workforce here, a vote of confidence in businesses here and it is a sign of our determination that Aberdeen is not just the clean energy capital of the UK but of the whole of Europe.”

In job listings for directors at GB energy, applicants were told that Aberdeen was one of several locations appointees could choose to be base themselves in - including Birmingham, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, London or Salford.

But Miliband denied the company's Aberdeen headquarters would be in "name only".

Miliband said the North Sea was a "massive asset" in the UK's plan to reach net-zero emissions targets.

He pointed to his government's pledge to invest nearly £22bn in two carbon capture projects on Merseyside and Teesside in England, promised over the next 25 years.

A Scottish carbon capture project at St Fergus in Aberdeenshire was not included in the announcement, having previously lost out to the English “clusters” when it bid for UK government funding in 2021.

Backers at St Fergus are hopeful of winning support to be operational by 2030.

The UK government said the £22bn investment would create thousands of jobs, attract private investment and help the UK meet climate goals.

Miliband described it as the “first step in the carbon capture and storage journey”.

He added that there was a “bright future for Scotland as part of the clean energy revolution”.

Miliband announced a new “skills passport”, a digital tool for workers who want to transition from oil and gas to renewables, was set to be piloted by January 2025.

Overseen by industry bodies RenewableUK and Offshore EnergiesUK, and supported by the UK and Scottish governments, it is designed to recognise transferable skills and qualifications and lay out career pathways.

Nine out of ten oil and gas workers have transferable skills for offshore renewable jobs, according to research from Offshore Energies UK.

Miliband emphasised that the Labour government was “determined to stand with communities and workers to take advantage of the huge opportunities”.

Gillian Martin, Scotland's acting net zero and energy secretary said her government had provided funding of £3.7m between 2022 and 2024 for the development of the skills passport to ensure "no offshore energy workers are left behind".

She added: "Scotland already has a strong pipeline of clean energy and supply chain opportunities, is at the forefront of floating offshore wind development, and has a depth of knowledge and experience on community and local energy.”

Sue Ferns, of leading energy trade union Prospect, welcomed the agreement between the governments.

She added: "The focus on skills is especially important if we are to have a just transition, utilise the talent we already have, and help people into parallel low-carbon jobs.

"We hope that if the skills passport scheme is a success it will be possible to quickly roll it out more widely to help workers affected by the transition to net zero access jobs in clean energy."

Meanwhile, the UK and Scottish governments announced a £500,000 project offering support to staff who could be laid off when the Grangemouth refinery closes next year.

The site is to be closed by owners Petroineos in the second quarter of next year, with the loss of up to 400 jobs.

Ministers say "bespoke support" will be provided by Forth Valley College to help workers develop skills to help them find new work in the green energy sector.