The North Sea could produce at least half of the UK’s oil and gas needs over the next 25 years if new projects are allowed to go ahead, according to industry leaders.

However, under current plans only four billion of the 13 to 15 billion barrels required will get out of the ground.

Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) said this could be almost doubled to about seven billion barrels. This would add up to £150bn of gross value to the UK economy on top of the £200bn from planned production, and helping to provide energy security.

Commenting on its 2025 Business Outlook report, chief executive David Whitehouse said this could only happen if the UK Government drops its ban on issuing licences to explore new fields.

Even independent advisers at the Climate Change Committee have said that hitting 2050 targets will require the UK to produce 13 billion to 15 billion barrels of oil and gas.

In a presentation, Mr Whitehouse said: “Energy security is national security. In an increasingly volatile world the widening gap between the energy we produce and what we import matters.

“On the journey to net zero we will need oil and gas for decades to come. It makes sense for the UK to produce as much as it can itself.”

The report also finds that by 2050, when UK electricity demand has more than doubled, oil and gas will still form a fifth of UK energy needs.