Get you up to speed: Trump claims Aberdeen ‘ought to thrive’ urging UK to ‘drill, baby, drill’ for North Sea oil
Donald Trump criticised the United Kingdom’s refusal to drill for North Sea oil amidst rising energy prices linked to the Iran war.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves condemned the ‘folly of America’s actions in the Middle East’ while US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasised the temporary nature of rising energy prices.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband maintains that opening new oil and gas fields in the North Sea will not reduce UK energy bills, contradicting calls from Conservative Party leaders.
What we know so far
Amid soaring oil prices due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, US President Donald Trump is advocating for the UK to increase its oil production in the North Sea. Trump condemned the UK’s reluctance to drill and suggested that it should capitalise on its oil reserves to address energy demands, stating, “Tragic!!! Aberdeen should be booming.”
Trump’s comments follow his criticism of the UK government’s energy strategy, where he pointed out that Norway is currently selling its North Sea oil back to Britain at significantly higher prices. He urged, “UK, which is better situated on the North Sea for purposes of energy…should, DRILL, BABY, DRILL!”
The call for increased drilling comes as key voices in the UK, including Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage, support the idea of exploiting the North Sea’s resources. However, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband warned that opening new oil and gas fields would not affect UK energy bills, which are influenced primarily by international markets. The government maintains that focusing on renewable and nuclear energy is the more sustainable path forward.
As discussions around the UK’s energy policy continue, critics have labelled Trump’s suggestions as misguided. Tessa Khan from the pressure group Uplift accused Trump of being “unsurprisingly ill-informed” about UK energy dynamics, highlighting the pressing need for a transition to renewable sources in light of the ongoing crisis.
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Trump says Aberdeen ‘should be booming’ in call for UK to ‘drill, baby, drill’ for North Sea oil | News UK
With oil prices skyrocketing after the Strait of Hormuz blockade, Donald Trump is grasping at the ‘special relationship’ for a solution.
The US President, fresh from comparing himself to Jesus, took to social media to mock the United Kingdom for refusing to drill in the North Sea and preferring renewable sources of energy.
Trump posted on Truth Social: ‘Europe is desperate for Energy, and yet the United Kingdom refuses to open North Sea Oil, one of the greatest fields in the World. Tragic!!! Aberdeen should be booming.’
The former Apprentice host claimed instead Norway is selling its North Sea oil back to Britain ‘at double the price’.
He added: ‘They are making a fortune. UK, which is better situated on the North Sea for purposes of energy than Norway, should, DRILL, BABY, DRILL!!!
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Drilling in the North Sea is notoriously difficult with high winds, huge waves and uneven seabeds sometimes 500m deep.
You need expensive specialised rigs, whereas drilling in the Middle East is on land and has been, before the Iran war, far easier.
Despite this, Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch have already called for the black gold below us to be exploited.
Trade body Offshore Energies UK has said similar, arguing that failing to take advantage of the North Sea leaves us ‘more exposed to global volatility and higher emissions’.
There’s an untapped gas field 150 miles east of Aberdeen, called Jackdaw. If that untapped field was to be tapped, we’d get enough gas to heat 1.6 million homes.
But Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has maintained cracking open the new oil and gas fields wouldn’t take a penny off UK energy bills, as the price is set on international markets.
The government says the shift to renewable and nuclear energy additionally makes sense because the North Sea is maturing and has been in decline for more than 20 years, so Britain should get well-prepared for a future where we can’t rely on what’s beneath it.
‘Sort out his own mess’
Tessa Khan, Executive Director of Uplift, a pressure group focussing on the transition to green energy, said Trump is ‘unsurprisingly ill-informed’ on UK energy policy.
She told WTX: ‘The Iran crisis does not change the fact that the UK has burned most of its gas and most of what is left in the North Sea is oil, the majority of which is exported.
‘We should see Trump as the cheerleader-in-chief for an oil industry that is set to make obscene profits while the rest of us are once again facing unaffordable energy bills, and which is fuelling the rapid changes we’re seeing to our climate.
‘And like the oil giants, he is opposed to the genuine solutions that will get us off gas and protect us from energy shocks – namely renewable energy and upgrading homes with solar power, batteries and heat pumps.
‘It also makes no sense to take Trump’s advice when we’re facing high energy bills and financial hardships because of a conflict he helped start, to say nothing of the war’s broader consequences. Trump should stop trying to play god in the politics of other countries and focus on sorting out the mess he created.’
In the face of a spike in energy prices caused by the Iran war hitting the UK and wider global economy, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said ‘a small bit of economic pain for a few weeks is worth taking off the incalculable tail risk of either a nuclear Iran or a nuclear Iran that uses that weapon’.
As Chancellor Rachel Reeves hit out at the ‘folly of America’s actions in the Middle East and its impact on families, Mr Bessent insisted ‘there is nothing more transient than what we are seeing now’.
He said: ‘So the conflict will end, prices will come down, and then headline inflation will come down, and with that, gasoline prices will come down.’
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