The Oil Machine (PG)
Directed by Emma Davie
 

WITH soaring energy prices and just days before this year’s Cop27 summit in Egypt comes this thought-provoking documentary which takes a deep dive into our addiction to oil and how it is intrinsically embedded in our lives, our economy and our society.

Described as an invisible machine, the film, directed by Emma Davie, provides a potted history of North Sea Oil and how its influence extends from high finance and pensions, to cheap consumer goods which are made from oil. Apparently, the manufacture of the iPhone involves six litres of the black stuff.

The documentary features an array of voices from all sides: scientists, activists, members of the oil and gas industry, investors and oil workers as they elucidate on their concerns and the complexities of how, and how quickly, we can transition away from oil and gas.

The UK’s former chief scientific adviser Sir David King warns that we only have five years to make a difference and help save the planet.

The film also shows what little headway has been made since last year’s Cop26 in Glasgow, pointing out that while environmentalists and activists were kept at arms length, fossil fuel lobbyists were at the negotiating table as part of the government.

The documentary highlights an even more galling fact: since the 2016 Paris Agreement, and with BP reporting this week a huge rise in global profits of £7.1 billion in the last quarter (June-September), the Westminster government has been giving North Sea oil and gas companies subsidies and handouts to the tune of at least £4bn.

Plus, if they decommission their operations they can claim back the costs from the government, while ordinary people are struggling to pay for their energy and with the increased cost of living sparked by rising oil and gas prices.

In short, the oil machine makes billions in revenue though none of it results in cheaper energy for the UK — under Margaret Thatcher the government sold the rights to drill for oil and gas in the North Sea to international companies. Could this be the end of oil as activists demand change?

Davie’s powerful and insightful documentary aims to be a call to action before time runs out. Let’s hope our latest Prime Minister, who has now decided he will be attending Cop27 after all, has got the memo.

MD

In cinemas