The Strait of Hormuz crisis has reignited calls to ramp up North Sea drilling to shield the UK from energy price shocks. But lead times, market pricing structures and clear alternatives point in a different direction — one that embraces clean energy at pace. This reinforces our core belief at EQ Investors: sustainability is often the right choice for long-term economic success, not a cost we bear to do the right thing

The lead-time mismatch:

The average journey from a new North Sea licence to first production is around 28 years. Even undeveloped discoveries — the industry’s best case — take 10 to 15 years. Rosebank, the poster child, was discovered in 2004 and hasn’t produced a barrel. Tiebacks to existing infrastructure might deliver small volumes in 3 to 5 years, but these are marginal gains from a basin roughly 90% depleted.

Compare this to renewables. Onshore wind and ground-mount solar move from licence to generation in 2 to 4 years. The UK installed 2.5 GW of solar in 2025, with 60% growth forecast for 2026. Offshore wind takes longer — 6 to 10 years — but the UK already has 11.5 GW under construction and a further 8.4 GW awarded in January 2026, with generation expected around 2030. That’s roughly the same horizon on which Rosebank might, at the very earliest, begin production.

The pricing illusion:

Even if North Sea hydrocarbons appeared overnight, they wouldn’t lower UK bills. Around 80% of UK crude is exported — we lack the refining capacity to process it domestically. North Sea oil trades on international markets as an interchangeable (fungible) commodity; producing it here earns no price discount.

Gas is marginally more complex. The UK could theoretically restrict exports under the Energy Act 1976, but doing so would undermine its role as a European trading hub, risk retaliation from EU partners, and spook the international investors who operate North Sea fields.

More fundamentally, gas prices feed into electricity bills through marginal pricing. Unless that mechanism is overhauled, as Rachel Reeves just announced, the only structural way to reduce households’ exposure to gas-driven price spikes is to build enough renewable capacity that gas is called upon less often.

Achieving real security:

This crisis doesn’t expose a deficit of drilling. It exposes the vulnerability of an energy system tethered to globally traded fossil fuels concentrated in geopolitically unstable regions. Clean energy offers faster deployment, lower and more stable costs, and full domestic ownership. As long-term sustainable investors, it is paramount that EQ’s clients’ investments support this path — and benefit from its rollout.