<div id="readability-page-1" class="page"><div><div><div><div><p>The chairman of Ed Miliband’s state-backed energy company has argued for “more North Sea production” to slow job losses in the oil and gas sector.</p><p>Jürgen Maier, the former Siemens boss who now oversees Great British Energy (GB Energy), said more domestic oil and gas drilling was needed to buy time for workers in the North Sea so they could retrain for net zero jobs.</p><p>He said increased drilling would also generate higher tax revenues and produce fewer carbon emissions than imports.</p><p>Writing on LinkedIn, Mr Maier said that while he disagreed that higher North Sea production could cut energy prices, he supported the move to renewables “being an all energy and managed energy transition”.</p><p>The chairman’s comments will raise eyebrows at a time when critics of Labour’s energy policies say the Energy Secretary’s crackdown on the North Sea is accelerating the basin’s decline and causing thousands of job losses.</p><p>Within hours of his remarks being reported, Mr Maier clarified in another post that he was “fully supportive” of the Government’s position.</p><p>A spokesman for Mr Miliband declined to comment on whether any officials had contacted Mr Maier about his comments and referred The Telegraph to GB Energy.</p><p>A report by trade body Offshore Energy UK on Tuesday warned that “policy, not geology” was behind a collapse in investment.</p><p>It warned that on current trajectories, Britain will be reliant on liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipped from abroad for nearly half of its gas supplies by 2035.</p><p>By comparison, it argued, this could fall to less than 10pc if ministers reformed the windfall tax and granted new licences for dozens of projects.</p><p>The creation of GB Energy has been one of Mr Miliband’s flagship policies since returning to government in July 2024. Mr Maier was appointed as the company’s chairman that same month.</p><p>The debate around the North Sea has flared in recent weeks as the crisis in the Middle East has prompted global concern about oil and gas supplies and sent prices soaring.</p><p>On Tuesday, Mr Miliband repeated his insistence that drilling for more oil and gas in the North Sea would make “no difference” to production.</p><p>The Energy Secretary has repeatedly argued that more drilling would be a waste of time because it would not bring down prices.</p><p>In a parliamentary question, Esther McVey, a Conservative MP, said sites were being closed down because of the Energy Secretary’s “Left-wing dogma”.</p><p>But Mr Miliband said: “We’re going to use the existing oil and gas fields for their lifetime. I think she’s referring to the question of exploration licences.</p><p>“What everybody says is exploration licences make no material difference to production levels and on the tax question.</p><p>“I hope she’ll carry on supporting the windfall tax and tell her front bench this would be the wrong time to abolish the windfall tax.”</p></div></div></div></div></div>

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<p>The chairman of Great British Energy, Jürgen Maier, advocates for increased North Sea drilling to mitigate job losses in the oil and gas sector and generate higher tax revenues. He emphasizes the need for domestic production to allow workers time to transition to net zero jobs. Despite his support for renewables, Maier's comments have sparked controversy amid criticisms of Labour's energy policies. A report warns that current policies could lead to a reliance on imported liquefied natural gas by 2035. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband maintains that more drilling will not impact production levels or prices.</p>

The telegraph

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Miliband’s clean energy tsar calls for more North Sea drilling