Factcheck: North Sea gas is not ‘four times cleaner’ than LNG imports

<p>A claim that UK gas produced in the North Sea emits “four times” less carbon dioxide (CO2) than imported liquified natural gas (LNG) featured prominently in both the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2025/sep/02/oil-and-gas-imports-are-a-problem-labour-should-rethink-its-north-sea-stance">Guardian</a> and the <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/09/02/north-sea-great-future-kemi-wont-be-oil-and-gas/">Daily Telegraph</a> this week.</p>

<p>It came after Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp890n51684o">announced</a> a pledge to drill “all” the remaining oil and gas in the North Sea, reigniting debates about new fossil-fuel production in the UK.</p>

<p>The claim that “UK gas is almost four times cleaner” than LNG imports was first made by a North Sea Transition Authority <a href="https://www.nstauthority.co.uk/news-publications/north-sea-gas-is-almost-four-times-cleaner-than-lng-imports/">report</a> in 2023 and is often <a href="https://x.com/ClaireCoutinho/status/1750166312188289220">repeated</a> by senior Conservative politicians, as well as other public figures.</p>

<p>However, this figure is highly misleading.</p>

<p>It only refers to the emissions that come from the process of extracting and delivering the gas, which are much smaller than those from burning it.</p>

<p>When both extraction and burning of the gas are taken into account, CO2 emissions from UK production are only around 15% lower than those from LNG imports, Carbon Brief analysis shows.</p>

<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img alt="Stacked bar chart showing that North Sea gas is not 'four times cleaner' than imported LNG" class="wp-image-58935" height="2560" src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/north-sea-gas-scaled.png" style="width: 500px;" width="1819" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Emissions (grams of CO2 per kilowatt hour) from North Sea gas vs LNG imports. Source: Carbon Brief analysis</figcaption></figure></div>

<p>Focusing on LNG imports alone is also misleading.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/gas-section-4-energy-trends">Official data</a> shows that, from January to June 2025, the majority of UK gas imports came via pipeline from Norway.</p>

<p>Over this period, the UK imported 156,599 gigawatt hours (GWh) of gas from Norway via pipeline, the data shows. Its total LNG imports from all countries came to 82,378GWh.</p>

<p>An <a href="https://www.petro-online.com/news/fuel-for-thought/13/sp-global/two-thirds-of-uk-and-norway-north-sea-oil-and-gas-production-has-lower-than-average-greenhouse-gas-intensity-new-analysis-finds/59378#:~:text=The%20analysis%20found%20that%2C%20on,(8%20kgCO2e%2Fboe).">analysis</a> published in 2022 found that, on average, emissions from extracting and processing gas in the UK North Sea are nearly three times higher than those from Norwegian production.</p>

<p>Previous <a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/letter-climate-compatibility-of-new-oil-and-gas-fields/">analysis</a> from the <a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/">Climate Change Committee</a> found that there is a small emissions “advantage” when UK oil and gas production is compared to the global average.</p>

<p>However, the CCC added that this emissions advantage would be wiped if increased production in the UK boosted global gas demand even fractionally, because it would lead to higher overall fossil-fuel use.</p>

<p>The <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2023">UN Emissions Gap Report</a> in 2023 said that the coal, oil and gas extracted over the lifetime of producing and under-construction mines and fields as of 2018 “would emit more than 3.5 times the carbon budget available” for meeting the <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/interactive-the-paris-agreement-on-climate-change/">Paris Agreement</a>’s aim of keeping temperatures at 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.</p>

<p>The world’s highest international court recently gave a <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/icj-what-the-world-courts-landmark-opinion-means-for-climate-change/">landmark opinion</a> stating that granting new fossil-fuel exploration licences “may constitute an internationally wrongful act” attributable to the state issuing them.</p>

<p>This is based on a wide body of <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/in-depth-qa-the-ipccs-sixth-assessment-report-on-climate-science/">scientific evidence</a> on how fossil-fuelled climate change has endangered people and ecosystems.</p>

<p>Output from the North Sea is <a href="https://x.com/DrSimEvans/status/1562905833582649346">already in decline</a>. Oil production peaked in <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-can-new-uk-oil-and-gas-licences-ever-be-climate-compatible/">1999</a>, while gas production in the UK continental shelf peaked in 2000.</p>

<p>After decades of drilling, the <a href="https://www.upliftuk.org/post/the-future-of-the-north-sea">majority</a> of reserves left in the North Sea is oil. Contrary to claims that it would increase energy security or bring down bills to issue new licences, around <a href="https://twitter.com/doug_parr/status/1664260429697171457?s=20">80%</a> of oil produced in UK waters is currently exported to the global market.</p>

<div class="guten-block block-related-articles-slider block-related-articles-slider-block_72c165f1f19076fa0d2c8645665196be ">
<div class="container">
<div class="row col-edges related-slider">

<div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-3">
<div class="card card-category">

<a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-16-misleading-myths-about-solar-power/"><img src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/mythbuster-heros-09-300x200.png" /></a>

<div class="content mh">
<p class="text-header-s content"><a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-16-misleading-myths-about-solar-power/">Factcheck: 16 misleading myths about solar power</a></p>
<div class="meta-info d-flex justify-content-start align-items-center">
<p class="text-tag-s">Factchecks</p>
<span class="pipe-spacer">|</span>
<p class="text-tag-meta">28.08.25</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

<div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-3">
<div class="card card-category">

<a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-trumps-climate-report-includes-more-than-100-false-or-misleading-claims/"><img src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/doe-thumbnail-hero-300x200.jpg" /></a>

<div class="content mh">
<p class="text-header-s content"><a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-trumps-climate-report-includes-more-than-100-false-or-misleading-claims/">Factcheck: Trump’s climate report includes more than 100 false or misleading claims</a></p>
<div class="meta-info d-flex justify-content-start align-items-center">
<p class="text-tag-s">Factchecks</p>
<span class="pipe-spacer">|</span>
<p class="text-tag-meta">14.08.25</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

<div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-3">
<div class="card card-category">

<a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-why-expensive-gas-not-net-zero-is-keeping-uk-electricity-prices-so-high/"><img src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/M5NHAT-300x200.jpg" /></a>

<div class="content mh">
<p class="text-header-s content"><a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-why-expensive-gas-not-net-zero-is-keeping-uk-electricity-prices-so-high/">Factcheck: Why expensive gas – not net-zero – is keeping UK electricity prices so high</a></p>
<div class="meta-info d-flex justify-content-start align-items-center">
<p class="text-tag-s">Energy</p>
<span class="pipe-spacer">|</span>
<p class="text-tag-meta">20.05.25</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

<div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-3">
<div class="card card-category">

<a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-how-the-uk-is-and-is-not-studying-solar-geoengineering/"><img src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2AA0RTR-300x200.jpg" /></a>

<div class="content mh">
<p class="text-header-s content"><a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-how-the-uk-is-and-is-not-studying-solar-geoengineering/">Factcheck: How the UK is – and is not – studying solar geoengineering</a></p>
<div class="meta-info d-flex justify-content-start align-items-center">
<p class="text-tag-s">Factchecks</p>
<span class="pipe-spacer">|</span>
<p class="text-tag-meta">15.05.25</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

</div>

</div>
</div>

<p>The post <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-north-sea-gas-is-not-four-times-cleaner-than-lng-imports/">Factcheck: North Sea gas is not ‘four times cleaner’ than LNG imports</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org">Carbon Brief</a>.</p>