Malcolm Webb, Oil & Gas UK's chief executive, said: "Oil & Gas UK warmly welcomes the newly created Department for Energy and Climate Change and its Secretary of State, Ed Miliband.
"In our submission to the 2006 Energy Review, we said that energy policy needed to be better aligned and represented within Government and that a dedicated department led by a Secretary of State for Energy would allow a more efficient and coherent approach.
"We now very much look forward to working with Ed Miliband and his new Department. The oil and gas sector has a vital role to play in securing the UK's energy future. Even upon the achievement of the Government's 15% renewable energy target, the UK will still rely on oil and gas for 70% of its energy needs in 2020.
"Therefore, it is imperative that the UK maximises recovery of its indigenous reserves, which, given the right business environment, could still provide most of our oil and a quarter of more of the UK's gas demand in 2020. Working with the new Secretary of State and his Department to help ensure that indigenous supplies are maximised will bring immense economic and social benefits to the nation."
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