Oil And Gas Firms Warn Of Complete Operational North Sea Collapse
North Sea oil exploration firms have told the Treasury that they face going out of business due to the 75 percent windfall tax imposed on them in the Chancellor’s autumn statement.
But then again, perhaps that is the idea.
GB News economics and business editor Liam Halligan revealed that Brindex, which represents the firms, has written to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to warn that their members face ruin:
“These aren’t the big oil majors like Shell and BP,” Liam revealed on GB News on Tuesday afternoon.
These are the smaller British companies that work the North Sea for oil and gas and may in fact account for about 60 or 70 percent of the gas and oil that is extracted from the North Sea.
They are hugely important, they go for the smaller wells that are more difficult, and for them, their whole business is the North Sea, so this energy profits levy, which is coming to the House of Commons tomorrow for a second reading, is absolutely key.”
So they’ve written to the chancellor, and said that this latest tax rise to 75 percent poses an existential threat to the industry and within that jobs and our nation’s energy security.
Jacques Tohme, a spokesman for Brindex, told GB News: “We’re talking about what is a Treasury-inflicted complete collapse of the North Sea.
“The timing of this is very important, given how strategic the North Sea is right now in the face of war with Russia and runaway inflation. This Finance bill will increase energy costs for consumers.
“It will actually lower revenues over time for the Treasury because they are on a hook for £20 billion of decommissioning and that will accelerate as fields get decommissioned earlier.
“We will have to leave the country and with that, a lot of jobs, infrastructure, and most importantly energy security and bills will suffer.
So what we’re saying is create a very simple amendment with a price floor that will protect capital, protect jobs in energy security, and then above that level, we’re happy to pay 75 percent.
The revenue will actually make more money over time because we will continue to reinvest and keep oil production up, which is what they need for their Treasury budget.”
Brindex’s members also include Serica Energy, which is responsible for five percent of the gas produced in the UK per year.
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Tom
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Typical government…trying to tax thin air. There will be nothing left to tax when business goes under. There certainly won’t be any profits from stupid windmills and solar farms to tax. These idiots are insane. The country loses precious energy resources as well as taxes. But then again, that’s the best that leftism can offer…more nothingness.
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Koen Vogel
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Never conclude malevolence where stupidity may also suffice. Politicians are not known for their grasp of the consequences of their actions, and may see slaughtering the goose (yum!) preferable in the short term than harvesting golden eggs.
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James
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High prices are caused by supply shortage, and reduced by speculative investment allowing more production; needed in any case, since production from existing wells can only decrease. But governments like to think they are controlling the situation and pleasing the electorate by taxing someone else. Historically, higher taxation was used to slow an overheated economy; because that’s what it does.
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