Leeds Bradford Newswire Archive

Last year, for the first time since 1992, the UK became a net importer of crude oil as a result of terminal decline of the North Sea oil and gas fields. The British government doesn't appear to worried yet and apparently thinks the country can simply buy the energy it needs so quite some time to come. "The government consider that the world's oil resources are sufficient to prevent global total oil production peaking before 2030," said energy minister Malcolm Wicks earlier this month. Wicks said that the Government are already putting in place policies that will "help ease the UK economy away from power supplied primarily through fossil fuels" - probably a reference to the recent energy review and the U turn on nuclear power.