Could Boris Johnson drop a Cop bombshell on UK oil and gas?
Industry figures warn the quixotic British prime minister might choose Glasgow talks to make a grand gesture on the UKCS’ future
“At Cop in three weeks’ time, you could still get to the point where the prime minister stands up and says: ‘We are going to be the first nation to stop developing oil and gas.’ I have no idea if it is going to happen then, but it is going to happen at some point.” So said Stuart Broadley, CEO of UK supply chain industry association the Energy Industries Council, at Petroleum Economist’s LNG to Power Emea forum this week. “You can see already the UK government has stopped supporting oil and gas-related exporting. So [an end to new development] is the next step, and I think other countries will follow.” And the consensus from the London audience was that the country’s spotlight-craving leader
Also in this section
9 January 2026
The Latin American producer’s crude prospects rely on a multi-pronged approach where even the relatively easy wins will take considerable time, effort and cost
9 January 2026
While many forecasters are reasserting the importance of oil and gas, petrostates should be under no illusion things are changing, and faster than they might think
8 January 2026
Indonesia and Malaysia are at the dawn of breathtaking digital capabilities. Their energy infrastructure must keep up with their ambitions
8 January 2026
The next five years will be critical for the North Sea, and it will be policy not geology that will decide the basin’s future






