Over the longer term Serica’s shares have fallen from £4.50 in August 2022 to around £1.34 now – driven partly by falling energy prices but mostly by politicians, Mr Latin said.
His key point is that energy politics and the tax policies advanced by both main parties, but now especially by Labour, are based on an ideological dislike of fossil fuels – but take little account of the country’s long-term needs or the jobs destroyed on the way.
“It’s okay to be driven by ideology – the aspiration for a greener, cleaner Britain is a good one. But you need to have a road that’s paved in pragmatism to get there – and that means protecting jobs and energy supplies,” he said.
“If we follow a purely ideological path with no pragmatism, we will destroy an estimated 100,000 jobs – roughly half the industry – and undermine our own energy supplies.”
The UK gets 77pc of its total energy from oil and gas, a level that has remained roughly constant for over a decade.
Last year the nation used 76bn cubic metres of gas, with 40pc used to generate electricity and much of the rest powering the boilers that heat 25m UK homes.
The UK also consumes 60m tonnes of oil – nearly a tonne per person – mostly to fuel our 32m petrol and diesel vehicles.
Mr Latin suggested that few politicians have a proper grasp of how the UK’s energy systems work.
“The reality is that it’s quite hard, right?” he said.
“They’re not in those jobs for long. They have to absorb huge amounts of information.”
The latest government energy statistics are stark. They show that the UK’s own energy production, including oil, gas and electricity fell by 8.3pc to a record low in 2023, meaning imports hit a record high.
“The UK’s net import dependency stood at 40.8pc, up from 37pc in 2022,” said the latest government report.
