An Aberdeen energy investment boss has branded UK Government North Sea policy “frankly incompetent”.
Steve Gray, managing partner at Ventex Studio, said the combination of a ban on new oil and gas exploration licences and soaring offshore wind costs was undermining investment in the North-east.
Speaking at an Offshore Energies UK event at P&J Live, he said: “It’s very hard to be optimistic about the UK’s domestic energy industry when we have policymaking that’s frankly incompetent.”
He criticised the Government’s Energy Independence Bill, arguing that Britain would continue importing oil and gas while denying domestic producers the opportunity to develop new resources.
Mr Gray called for oil and gas taxation to be reduced to corporation tax levels, continued exploration licensing and a fundamental overhaul of offshore wind development.
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