Industry News: New North Sea board launched as pressure mounts over jobs and investment

January 29, 2026
Industry News: New North Sea board launched as pressure mounts over jobs and investment

A new North Sea Future Board has been launched in Aberdeen to help drive a “fair, managed and prosperous transition” for the basin.

Chaired by UK Energy Minister Michael Shanks, the board brings together senior figures from across oil and gas, renewables, supply chains, trade unions and government. The government says it will support delivery of its North Sea Future Plan by boosting investment, unblocking barriers to delivery and supporting the region’s highly skilled workforce.

The board’s inaugural meeting today comes against a backdrop of mounting tension over the pace and direction of the UK’s energy transition. It follows a strongly worded intervention from the GMB union, which has warned that a “rushed and needless” rundown of North Sea oil and gas is having a devastating impact on Aberdeen, with significant job losses linked to the ban on new exploration and high levels of taxation.

However, earlier this week UK and EU agreed a landmark clean energy security pact, committing to 100GW of joint offshore wind projects in the North Sea as part of a wider ambition to reach 300GW by 2050.

Energy Minister Michael Shanks said: “We are at a turning point in the North Sea’s success story and our actions now will determine the huge potential for it to become the clean energy powerhouse of Britain.

“This is a call to arms for all those involved to come together in building a lasting future that will secure generations of highly skilled jobs and investment, while managing existing oil and gas production for decades to come.

“The North Sea’s workers and communities have helped power the UK and the world for decades. The government’s North Sea Future Plan will ensure they continue to do so for many decades to come. It sets a clear path to grow clean energy industries, support the management of existing oil and gas fields for their lifespan, and help North Sea workers and communities make the transition.”

Board membership

The North Sea Future Board includes UK Energy Minister Michael Shanks as chair, alongside UK Industry Minister Chris McDonald and Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy Gillian Martin.

Industry and regulator representatives include Stuart Payne, Chief Executive of the North Sea Transition Authority; David Whitehouse, Chief Executive of Offshore Energies UK; Dan McGrail, Chief Executive of Great British Energy; Claire Mack OBE, Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables; Maggie McGinlay, Chief Executive of ETZ Ltd; Joanne Leng, Chief Executive of NOF; Sam Long, Chief Executive of Decom Mission; Neil McCulloch, Chief Executive of Adura; Sarah Moore, Chief Executive of Peterson; Rich Denny, Managing Director of the Northern Endurance Partnership; and Olivia Powis of the Carbon Capture Storage Association.

Workforce and trade union representation includes John Boland of Unite, Darren Proctor, National Secretary of the RMT, and Claire Greer, Regional Organiser for GMB Scotland. Local and regional interests are represented by Jim Savege, Chief Executive of Aberdeenshire Council, alongside Jane Cooper, Deputy Chief Executive of RenewableUK, and Kevin Keable, Chair of the East of England Energy Group.

The board will meet quarterly and is tasked with driving investment across all North Sea regions, supporting workforce protections, identifying new supply chain opportunities and helping to remove barriers to delivering the energy transition.

Get in touch

AREG is the original energy transition organisation, working on behalf of members to empower the energy supply chain and champion its expertise. Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to find out more about membership.

Contact Us
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AREG has played an important role in the growth of Scotland’s renewable energy sector, engaging the supply chain and developing the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre. However, we are only at the very beginning of the transition that AREG was established to both lead and support so there are still opportunities for companies to get into the constantly evolving renewables supply chain. We look forward to continuing our work together as renewables builds on its place as Scotland’s main source of power, and as we seek to deliver real change in the crucial areas of heat and transport.

Scottish Renewables
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Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce has worked closely with AREG since its formation. The recent progress in the developments of offshore wind projects by Equinor and Vattenfall are as a result of the work of the group over many years. The north-east is known as the oil and gas capital of Europe. At the Chamber, we believe the region must evolve its position to being recognised as the energy capital. Whilst hydrocarbons will continue to be essential in driving our economy for years to come, the generation of renewable resources will play an increasingly important role in providing cost-effective power, innovative development and economic growth.

Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce
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The enthusiasm and dedication of the early group that would become AREG was fundamental in us choosing to launch All-Energy in Aberdeen. The first tiny show was held in 2001, and AREG’s Chairman at the time, Jeremy Cresswell, played such an active role that I often describe him in terms such as All-Energy’s ‘midwife’. All-Energy is now the UK’s largest renewable and low carbon energy exhibition and conference in terms of number of attendees, space booked, and number of exhibiting companies. As AREG became firmly established, their presence and support for the event grew spectacularly over the years. We thank them most sincerely for their invaluable input.

All-Energy
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Vattenfall has forged a strong working relationship with AREG through the development of the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre. AREG has worked tirelessly on behalf of the North East and it can take enormous credit for the growth of sustainable energy in the region and the path it has cleared for the region to capture further investment.

Vattenfall
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Aberdeen City and Shire is emerging as a key location for renewables by successfully transferring its world-class oil and gas expertise into the sector and AREG has done much to advance this through a broad range of initiatives. It has acted as a catalyst in driving further investment in the local economy by engaging with companies, Government, public bodies and existing projects and we have been pleased to support their efforts. Scottish Enterprise will continue to engage with AREG as we increase Scotland’s use of renewable energy.

Scottish Enterprise