Labour’s plan to ban new oil and gas drilling is “economically senseless” and threatens to bring forward rig shutdowns by a decade, a major North Sea operator has warned.

Amjad Bseisu, chief executive of Enquest, said blocking new drilling licences would put jobs and investment at risk, while bringing forward shutdown costs for the taxpayer.

The company operates oil and gas platforms as well as the Sullom Voe terminal, where huge quantities of oil from the West of Shetland basin are processed.

Labour has vowed to block all new oil and gas developments if it comes to power, investing in renewable energy instead.

Mr Bseisu warned that if a ban on new licences is introduced, Enquest’s two large Magnus and Kraken platforms would become less economic and be put at risk of early closure.

The ban would not directly halt drilling at the two sites, which have licences already, but it would lead to reduced investment in the North Sea overall, forcing operators to accelerate decommissioning of rigs that are already operational.

In that scenario, Magnus would have to be decommissioned 10 years early in the mid-2020s. The date for Kraken, which is currently scheduled to shut down at some point between the late 2030s to the early 2040s, would likely move forward by five years.

That would hit the Treasury with extra costs earlier than expected, as oil companies receive big tax breaks for decommissioning.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Bseisu said: “If the Government [under Labour] said there’s no new field licences, it would be economically senseless.

“It will exacerbate the decline of the industry and actually exacerbate the costs to the taxpayer, because we will have to decommission everything sooner rather than later.

“You drill a well and the well declines. Without drilling another well to extract further production, decline rates will be exacerbated.

“And once you get to a certain level in a field, it becomes uneconomic and you have to go to decommissioning. I would assume, in many cases at least, a decade acceleration in field life.”

Mr Bseisu added: “We will still need oil and gas. And [if we ban new drilling], we will just end up importing more and destroying jobs in the UK, having a higher carbon footprint and a larger trade deficit.

“It should be evolution, not revolution – it’s called a transition.”

Labour has insisted that there are enough existing North Sea licences to ensure production continues and argued that granting more conflicts with Britain’s agreements to tackle climate change.

On Sunday a party spokesman said: “Labour is proud of our close working relationship with the oil and gas industry.