Barclays earned an estimated $700,000 from its involvement in the deal with Harbour Energy - a key player in North Sea oil production. Four other non-UK headquartered banks – Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, DNB Bank ASA and JPMorgan - were involved in the deal.

Harbour Energy is actively exploring new fields in Mexico, Argentina and recently obtained 9 new exploration licenses in Norway - but leading climate scientists have repeatedly warned that there must be no new oil and gas projects if global heating is to stay under 1.5 degrees.

Harbour Energy's 2025 annual report said emissions from the oil and gas it sold were just over 67 million tonnes - equivalent to the annual emissions of Serbia. This represents an 85% increase compared with the previous year.

Burning fossil fuels is the most significant contributor to climate breakdown, which in turn increases both the frequency and severity of wildfires.

The news of Barclay’s new financing of Harbour comes only two weeks after the bank assisted the company in executing a $250 million share buyback.

At the time of writing, fire is devastating the lives of ordinary people around the UK. Over 400 acres (1.6km2) of the New Forest has been affected, according to the leader of Hampshire County Council. A record drought in the UK has led to 72 fires in the country so far in 2026, burning over 230km2 – an area almost the size of Birmingham.

Barclays publicly states it won’t finance new fossil fuel expansion “projects”, but climate campaigners have previously criticised “loopholes” in its sustainability policy that still allows it to finance companies developing new oil and gas fields.

According to a recent analysis, Barclays provided a total of $34.1 billion of financing to global fossil fuel companies in 2025 alone.

In 2025, Barclays became the second major UK bank to withdraw from the now-defunct Net Zero Banking Alliance, arguing that its depleted membership undermined its effectiveness.

The revelations come at the same time that new UK Prime Minister has said he is seeking a “pragmatic” approach to new North Sea oil and gas drilling, which has drawn criticism by climate campaigners, including Global Witness.