THE oil and gas industry contributes to around £107m and 700 jobs in Barrow, research has found.

New research by OGUK, the leading representative body for the UK’s offshore oil and gas industry, has revealed that the oil and gas industry contributes £1bn Gross Value Added (GVA) to the economy of North West England, providing jobs for 14,600 people across the region.

These latest figures reinforce the North West as one of the UK’s major hubs for the oil and gas sector.

The sector supports jobs from Merseyside to Carlisle, and a principal beneficiary is the town of Barrow, with oil and gas contributing around £107m GVA and around 700 jobs.

Many of the jobs across the region are either directly or indirectly involved in helping move the UK faster towards a low-carbon future, developing homegrown cleaner energy and reducing reliance on imported oil and gas.

This is because the region’s industry has the essential expertise to help meet the UK Government’s climate targets of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Innovative projects such as HyNet, which will see the development of the UK’s first low-cost, low-risk carbon capture and storage technology, are reforming natural gas into clean hydrogen for use across households and industry.

Following the publication of these new figures, Jenny Stanning, OGUK’s external affairs director, said: “This latest report highlights the enormous role that the oil and gas industry plays in North West England’s economy, and especially in the town of Barrow.

"As the industry and energy landscape changes, the North West of England will play a critical role in helping the UK Government meet their ambitions of being net zero by 2050. This will also bring economic and employment opportunities to the region.

“A strong economy with strong job prospects can ultimately go hand in hand with addressing climate change. Major energy projects, like HyNet, are not only at the heart of the UK’s cleaner future, the regions they support also stand to be key beneficiaries.”

The research, conducted by Experian, found that across the UK, the oil and gas industry contributes £31 billion GVA, supporting almost 200,000 jobs across the country.