Viaro Energy CEO Francesco Mazzagatti has written an opinion piece for GB News challenging one of the most persistent misconceptions in Britain’s energy debate – that domestic oil and gas production and a clean energy future are mutually exclusive.
As Francesco writes: “Britain must choose between its domestic oil and gas industry and its clean energy ambitions – that North Sea drilling and a renewable future are somehow mutually exclusive. They are not.”
Francesco argues that abandoning North Sea production prematurely would be one of the costliest mistakes the country could make. Shutting down domestic output without a credible alternative does not reduce global emissions – it simply moves them elsewhere, along with British jobs, expertise, and tax revenues.
While strongly supportive of the energy transition, Francesco stresses that it must be built on realistic foundations. Offshore wind farms take years to plan and construct, while battery storage at scale remains expensive and underdeveloped. In the meantime, he says North Sea gas will continue to play an important role in maintaining grid stability as clean energy infrastructure develops.
Francessco calls for longer-term licensing to provide companies and investors with the planning certainty needed to support both continued domestic production and the clean energy infrastructure that will eventually replace it.
Francesco concludes that a credible UK energy strategy “must hold three things in balance: security, affordability, and sustainability – and none of them can be sacrificed for the others.”
🔗 Read the full op-ed on GB News: https://www.gbnews.com/opinion/north-sea-drilling-renewables-energy
