Trump says UK PM plans to open North Sea to oil drilling

US President Donald Trump said that newly appointed British Prime Minister Andy Burnham told him he intends to open the North Sea for oil drilling.

During remarks broadcast on the White House's YouTube channel, he noted that every oil industry executive he knows has urged him to help secure the reopening of the North Sea for oil exploration, Caliber.Az reports.

“If you use the North Sea, the UK will be a really rich country. I cannot get the point across. The new gentleman, when I spoke to him, he said he's going to open up the North Sea. Let's see if that happens,” Trump added.

Ending the issuance of new North Sea drilling licenses as part of the transition to cleaner energy sources was one of the key election pledges of the governing UK Labour Party, which Burnham represents.

In 2025, US energy company Apache announced plans to end its North Sea production by the end of 2029, citing the windfall tax on oil and gas producers and stricter environmental regulations.

At the time, Trump described the decision as a very big mistake.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov