”Hundreds” of new gas and oil licenses will be issued in the North Sea to secure energy supplies, the UK government announced on Monday. At the same time, it continues to aim for zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The announcement from the Conservative governing party has had both environmental activists and the opposition on the edge of their seats, and the opposition Labour Party - which is set to take power in next year’s election - says it has no intention of issuing drilling licenses in the North Sea, Reuters reports.

”Investment in the North Sea will continue to unlock new projects, protect jobs, reduce emissions and boost the UK economy,” says British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The approach is to create ”a more flexible application process” for license applications, which would still be subject to climate change requirements to reduce carbon emissions.

”The government is now taking steps to slow the rapid decline in domestic production of oil and gas, which will secure our domestic energy supply and reduce dependence on hostile states,” says the Prime Minister.

The reports, along with a positive oil price trend, lift several London-listed oil companies, including Serica Energy, which rises 6.8%, its 10th consecutive day of gains. Harbour Energy is up 4.3% and Energean Energy is up 3.0%.

The financial house Redburn emphasizes that the government is taking a more pragmatic approach to regulating the sector.

(Translated using DeepL with additional editing by Simon Øst Vejbæk)