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Yep, they would need to compensate the companies who currently own those licenses. It's certainly possible. Labour are planning on giving those same companies ~£29 billion in order to set the price cap at current levels. How much more to buy back the licenses?
The expertise would be a lot of the same people and service providers already working for those current companies. They would just be taken on by UK Gas co.
And as for the UK's reputation ... well, not sure that is such a huge issue anymore.
I guess I'm just saying it's still possible.
Lebowski-
Perversely, according to estimates I read the cost of nationalising gas would be a lot less that the 29bn Labour plan - by a ridiculous degree.
Edit as @greentricky points out, I've conflated the estimated cost to nationalise the Big 5 Energy companies with the cost of Labour's gas price freeze proposal.
GeneralStrike
They've already sold the rights to extract gas so would have to go back on that to do this, and would then need the expertise / machinery to extract it (and would be unlikely to get help from oil companies who have just been burnt by govt).
UK international reputation hurt for failing to honour contracts, lack of actual ability to get stuff out.
So it could have worked if we'd planned better from the start but the issue was in starting the "sell it to oil co" plan in the first place.
Arguably they could still tax them more and then use that money to fund rebates for consumers- that's more or less the lab plan now I think