The UK Government should avoid accelerating the decline of North Sea oil and gas production through policies, as job losses amid the decline in Scotland’s oil and gas industry currently exceed jobs created by clean energy, the UK Parliament’s Scottish Affairs Committee said in a new report on Friday.
The report, which is the first part of the committee’s inquiry into GB Energy and the net zero transition, warns that until clean energy jobs can be created at the scale needed to match current oil and gas job losses, the UK shouldn’t contribute to a further decline in the North Sea oil industry with its policies.
“In line with this, the cross-party committee raises concerns that without reform the Energy Profits Levy, also known as the Windfall Tax, will accelerate the decline of the North Sea oil and gas industry and its supply chain,” the committee said.
“The report concludes that reforms to the temporary tax, initially introduced in 2022, should be implemented as soon as possible to create certainty for the industry.”
The UK tax regime has changed every year since 2022 by both Conservative and Labour governments, making any investment plans so unpredictable that companies are quitting the UK North Sea.
Since the windfall tax was initially introduced by the Conservative government at the height of the energy crisis in 2022, oil and gas companies operating in the UK North Sea have been calling for certainty in the regulatory and tax framework. Recent changes in policies and the rising taxes imposed by the current Labour government have driven away operators, who say that a lack of North Sea investments would only make the UK more dependent on oil and gas imports.
Late last year, as Labour further raised the windfall tax, it also removed the 29% investment allowance on oil and gas operations, further stifling UK North Sea investment.
The result has been an exodus of companies, a decline in production, and a slump in exploration drilling.
The UK government has launched consultations on what type of tax regime should come next and on whether to award licenses in the North Sea. Decisions are expected later this autumn.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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