British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has expressed an openness to approving more oil drilling in the North Sea, after President Donald Trump claimed the new British leader would fully lift restrictions for the region.
In the days before Burnham took office, rumors were circulating that he would lift the United Kingdom’s ban on new drilling licenses for the North Sea, breaking with his party’s efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
While speculation has been further propped up by Trump, Burnham has not yet released his energy agenda or any details as to how he plans to approach North Sea drilling. On Thursday, however, he acknowledged the region holds a crucial “resource” for the nation, and said he plans to take a “pragmatic approach” regarding it.
“When people are struggling, we can’t ignore that,” he said, according to Bloomberg. “Hence me indicating that to the president.”
Burnham was referring to a conversation he had with Trump shortly after taking office last week.
While official readouts of the conversation did not reveal if the two had discussed the North Sea, Trump this week claimed Burnham said he was going to “open up the North Sea.”
“If you use the North Sea, the U.K. will be a really rich country,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “I cannot get the point across. The new gentleman, when I spoke to him, said he’s going to open up the North Sea.”
Allies of the new prime minister denied that he will overhaul the ban on new licenses, with deputy party leader Lucy Powell telling the BBC that Burnham “has been clear he stands by the policies in our manifesto.”
The U.K. aims to hit net-zero emissions by 2050 and has moved to reduce fossil fuel development by reducing incentives for drilling and blocking projects. In 2024, the Labour government committed to not permitting any new oil and gas drilling licenses in the North Sea.
Since then, however, there has been an acknowledgment among ministers that fossil fuel production will continue to play a critical role in supporting energy demand. Last summer, the U.K. government released new guidance related to environmental impact assessments for offshore oil and gas developers that notably left the door open to development.
Some reports have suggested that Burnham may focus primarily on a pair of drilling licenses previously issued for the North Sea that have been caught up in court. Early last year, the Court of Session in Edinburgh overturned the license approvals for the Jackdaw and Rosebank gasfield projects issued in 2022 and 2023.
At the time, the court ruled the approvals were unlawful and failed to fully assess the environmental impacts of the projects, such as the carbon emissions generated by the burning of any oil and gas produced. As part of the ruling, however, the court allowed the developers of the two projects, Shell and Equinor, to continue work, such as drilling wells, as the government considered any oil and gas production in the regions.
Some have said Burnham may allow the Jackdaw and Rosebank projects to move forward, while keeping the overall moratorium on new licenses in place.
The U.K. government has also sought to suppress oil and gas development by increasing taxes on oil and gas profits from 35% to 38%, bringing the total tax rate for firms operating in the North Sea to around 78%, according to the Financial Times.
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Fossil fuel lobbyists have said that increased oil and gas drilling will dramatically reduce the U.K.’s reliance on foreign sources of energy.
In March 2025, the Offshore Energies UK estimated that an additional 2 to 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent could be available in the North Sea by 2050. Any significant increase in oil production in the region could provide the U.K. with a greater competitive advantage as it looks to reduce reliance on areas such as the Middle East.