The 'trillion pound' oil fund the government believes Britain could have built

bbc news Oct 22, 2026 01:39 1 min read 1 reads

For the first time, the Treasury calculates how much the UK could have raised by investing North Sea proceeds.

Image caption,
The Jackdaw gas platform and drilling rig in the North Sea.

ByFaisal IslamEconomics editor

Published2 hours ago

After a half-century wait, the United Kingdom now has an oil fund.

Chancellor John Healey announced the creation of an Energy Wealth Fund at the Jackdaw gas approval announcement on Wednesday, with £2bn of funding diverted from the existing National Wealth Fund.

A selection of energy exporting countries, mainly in the Gulf, but also including Norway, over the years have amassed multi-trillion funds using oil and gas revenues to create epic national piggy banks.