UP TO 25,000 jobs and a £15 billion economic boost could be created if ministers take “urgent action” to ensure old North Sea infrastructure is decommissioned, a think tank said today.

Government measures to guarantee operators clean up ageing infrastructure could also provide a “critical skills bridge” for 15,000 skilled workers facing an unemployment “cliff edge” as the fossil fuel basin continues to decline, according to a report by Redwater Insights.

It said that the North Sea Transition Authority, which regulates the sector, needs increased powers to impose binding deadlines on operators around the decommissioning of infrastructure.

Regulators are currently “regularly” approving requests to delay removal of infrastructure, despite some 500 oil and gas wells already being overdue for decommissioning and a further 1,700 due to be plugged in the next six years, the report warned.

The body also called for operators to be required to pre-fund some decommissioning costs, and for more support to be given to workers transitioning from oil and gas production to decommissioning roles.

Redwater Insights director of legal Sophie Marjanac said: “We need urgent action to avoid a disaster for jobs, communities and the economy.

“Overly flexible regulation means operators are kicking the decommissioning can down the road. But delaying too much longer runs the risk of ballooning costs and highly skilled workers leaving the industry.”

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “Oil and gas production will be with us for decades to come, and we will manage existing fields for the entirety of their lifespan, while actively scaling up clean energy industries in the North Sea.”