So are other countries giving up oil and gas production?

The Government banned all future offshore exploration for oil and gas, despite it having lower carbon emissions than coal. They claim that the world is moving towards a future with no oil and gas.

Well if this is true, then surely other countries would be doing the same. I mean we wouldn’t be so stupid as to ban domestic production just so we have to import more would we?

Well read these snippets from a SPTEC newsletter:

China: China’s state energy giants are set to raise spending on domestic drilling this year to the highest levels since 2016, focusing on adding natural gas reserves in a concerted drive to boost local supplies. Responding to central government’s call last August to boost domestic energy security, China’s trio of oil majors – PetroChina, Sinopec Corp and CNOOC Ltd – are adding thousands of wells at oil basins in the remote deserts of Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, shale rocks in Southwest China’s Sichuan Province and deepwater fields of the South China Sea. The firms are showing greater risk appetite, expanding investments faster in exploration than production, emboldened by central government’s political push and oil prices nearing $60 a barrel, said state oil executives and analysts at consultancy Wood Mackenzie.(Selected by SPTEC Advisory from Global Times, February 10)

So the world’s largest greenhouse gas producer is increasing, not banning, oil and gas production.

How about the world’s third largest producer?

India: India is offering 23 oil and gas and coal-bed methane blocks for bidding in the third round of Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OLAP) as it looks to more than double the area under exploration to raise domestic output and cut imports. Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the OALP-III bid round at the Petrotech 2019 conference on the outskirts of Delhi. ‘In OALP-III, 23 blocks in 12 sedimentary basins are being offered. Of these, five are coal-bed methane (CBM) blocks. Total area on offer is about 31,000 sq kms,’ he said. Last date for bidding is April 10. OALP-III will run concurrently with OALP-II, where 14 blocks covering an area of close to 30,000 sq km is on offer for bidding, he said, adding in OALP-I, 55 blocks covering an area of 60,000 sq km were awarded in October last year.(Selected by SPTEC Advisory from Energy-Pedia, February 10)

We really are the morons of the world – imposing a ban that is bad for both the environment and the economy.