Despite the UK’s commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050, domestic oil and gas production would continue to play a significant role in the country’s energy mix, Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated on Tuesday.

While the UK is working on expanding offshore wind capacity, it will continue to authorise new oil and gas projects in the UK North Sea as part of its energy security strategy. The past few months have demonstrated that Europe and the United Kingdom cannot function without natural gas. The United Kingdom has experienced a cost-of-living crisis, with energy bills soaring and the price cap on those bills set to rise by 54% as of April 1, affecting 22 million UK households.

The government is poised to authorise the construction of six new oil and gas fields in the North Sea this year, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Earlier this year, the offshore energy sector association OGUK warned that unless new offshore fields are permitted and developed, the UK’s gas production may collapse by 75% by 2030, making it significantly more exposed to price shocks and geopolitical events.

The UK government is unwilling to shut down a sector that generates 73% of the country’s energy and meets 47% of its natural gas consumption. Authorities, on the other hand, have recently urged that new project innovations pass a so-called net-zero compatibility test.