Dr Ollie Folayan MBE, co-founder of AFBE-UK
The appointment of Miatta Fahnbulleh as the UK’s Energy Secretary seems meteoric, but her background as a Cabinet Office official and Chief Executive of the New Economics Foundation marks her as a seasoned policy heavyweight.
Following a recent meeting with the new Energy Secretary, Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) CEO David Whitehouse described the discussions as constructive. With rumours that Prime Minister Andy Burnham may accelerate North Sea development, the key question is how she will balance her green industrial ambitions with a pragmatic approach to the UK’s oil and gas sector
Five key indicators will signal which path her leadership takes:
Delivering Crucial Project Approvals
The industry requires swift decision-making on major pending developments like the Jackdaw and Rosebank fields. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) must provide regulatory clarity and final decisions for these legally contested developments. It must also maintain a predictable consenting process for existing licences and infrastructure tiebacks to maximise declining domestic basins.
Reforming the Energy Tax Framewor
The new Secretary of State must ensure a stable fiscal regime to avoid capital flight. Working with the Treasury, she needs to clearly define and accelerate the implementation of the proposed Oil and Gas Price Mechanism to unlock up to £50 billion in domestic investment. Additionally, clarifying boundaries around the existing Energy Profits Levy and its transition to the new mechanism is vital to restore long-term investor confidence.
Protecting Energy Security and Reducing Import Reliance
Miatta Fahnbulleh must balance clean energy ambitions against short-term dependencies by prioritising domestic North Sea output over volatile global imports recognising that domestic gas production produces significantly fewer carbon emissions than importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from overseas.
Ensuring a ‘Just Transition’ for the Workforce
Sustaining the economic health of energy hubs like Aberdeen is paramount. DESNZ must engage in immediate consultations with major unions to secure thousands of highly skilled jobs. Protecting existing supply chains and industrial capability will allow a diverse workforce to seamlessly pivot toward carbon capture, hydrogen, and offshore renewables. Part of this Just Transition means maximising opportunities for young people in deindustrialised areas and strengthening our efforts at making our workforce more representative of society. We cannot achieve this through an approach that kills off an existing industry before developing a future green sector. At AFBE-UK, we see an increasing number of people from underrepresented groups taking up engineering courses to forge successful careers. Supported by mentors, these young people understand the trade-offs necessary to preserve the present while building a future enhanced by artificial intelligence, machine learning, decarbonisation, the materials revolution, and modular manufacturing.
Pivoting to a Pragmatic Stance
Though Miatta Fahnbulleh has historically championed decarbonisation, she must align her approach with Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s broader vision. Success will depend on delivering the commitment to reindustrialise Britain using a collaborative, pragmatic approach that acknowledges fossil fuels will remain part of the UK energy mix for decades.
Dr Ollie Folayan MBE is co-founder and Scottish chair of AFBE-UK, an organisation supporting black and minority ethnic engineers across the UK with events held in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow. AFBE-UK’s flagship AFBELive conference takes place on Friday, October 30 (2026) at The Vox Conference Centre, Birmingham. For further information, visit www.afbelive.com
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