US President Donald Trump has urged the UK to expand oil and gas production in the North Sea, arguing it would boost Britain’s economy and energy security…reports Asian Lite News Desk
US President Donald Trump has called on the United Kingdom to expand oil and gas production in the North Sea, saying greater offshore drilling would strengthen the country’s economy and reduce its dependence on imported energy.
Speaking at the White House on Wednesday (local time), Trump said he had raised the issue with Britain’s new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, and expressed optimism that the UK government could reverse its approach to offshore energy development.
“Well, he did say one very good thing. He said he’s going to open up North Sea oil,” Trump said when asked about the new British leader.
“If he does that, you’re going to be a wealthy country, if he does it reasonably.”
Trump said he had previously urged former Prime Minister Keir Starmer to increase oil and gas production in the North Sea.
“I was telling Prime Minister Starmer, open up the North Sea. Open it up, you’ll be okay. Open it up,” he said.
The US President argued that Britain was facing two major challenges: immigration and energy.
“They have two problems. They have a huge immigration problem, people coming from all over the world and just camping out in your country,” Trump said.
“And he’s got an energy problem.”
Trump also contrasted Britain’s immigration policies with those of the United States, claiming his administration had effectively secured the US southern border.
“In fact, for 14 months, nobody has come into our country, zero, which is almost hard to believe, but that’s what the report says,” he said.
Turning to energy, Trump criticised Britain’s reliance on renewable power and questioned its reluctance to fully develop North Sea oil and gas reserves.
“He’s got windmills all over the place, and anytime you see windmills, you see a failing country,” Trump said.
He argued that Britain was importing energy despite possessing significant offshore resources.
“You have a thing called the North Sea, and you buy a lot of your energy, as you know, from the North Sea. You buy it from Norway, and Norway gets it from the North Sea,” he said.
Trump cited Norway’s sovereign wealth fund as an example of the economic benefits of offshore petroleum production.
“Norway’s got trillions of dollars in the bank, trillions,” he said.
He also claimed Scotland held some of the world’s most valuable offshore oil reserves.
“Scotland has a better part of the North Sea.”
“You have one of the most valuable oil finds anywhere in the world.”
Trump said he had repeatedly encouraged British leaders to expand exploration and production but had failed to persuade Starmer.
“And I’ll tell you what, I could not get Starmer to use it. It was incredible,” he said.
He added that executives from the energy industry had also urged him to encourage Britain to increase offshore drilling.
“Every oil company that I meet… said, please, could you open up the North Sea.”
Trump argued that expanding North Sea production would significantly improve Britain’s economic prospects.
“If you use the North Sea, the UK will be a really rich country,” he said.
He added that Burnham had indicated that the UK’s energy policy could change.
“The new gentleman, when I spoke to him, he said he’s going to open up the North Sea. Let’s see if that happens.”
During a later exchange with reporters, Trump also returned to the issue of immigration, claiming Europe was experiencing an unprecedented influx of migrants.
“They’re coming from Africa; they’re coming from South America; they’re coming from different parts of Asia, and they’re invading Europe,” he said.
“I mean, they’re invading Europe. And the UK is a prime suspect.”
The North Sea has long been one of Europe’s most significant offshore oil and natural gas producing regions, supplying energy to countries including the United Kingdom and Norway.
