UK Industrial Plan Must Have North Sea Tax Reform, Group Says
British offshore oil and gas companies have been facing challenges amid declining production at the mature basin as well as several increases and extensions of the Energy Profit Levy, a windfall tax introduced by the Conservative cabinet in 2022.
Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called his government’s 10-year industrial strategy “a turning point” for the nation’s economy, but for an oil and gas lobby the plan must include tax reform for North Sea energy producers.
A competitive tax structure alongside continued domestic oil and gas production is “the turning point we need,” David Whitehouse, chief executive officer of Offshore Energies UK, said at conference in Aberdeen, Scotland. The industry needs “a firm commitment from government” to deliver such long-term tax regime in 2026, he added.