The windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas producers announced by the Chancellor yesterday comes with a financially-painful sting in the tail - it could be in force for years.
The levy is expected to raise £5billion in 12 months, but it may run until the end of 2025 - meaning the total cost of the raid on company profits could exceed £17.5billion if hydrocarbon prices remain high over the three and a half years.
The danger posed by a multi-year additional tax - imposed to partly fund £15billion of support to help Britons with the rising cost of living - has not been missed by the UK oil and gas industry.
However, one consolation for the offshore sector is a new investment allowance which will incentivises producers to invest by saving them 91p for every £1 they spend.
The Government expects the combination of the windfall levy and the allowance will lead to an overall increase in investment.
But only time will tell if this the allowance “sweetener” will keep the oil and gas giants spending hundreds of billions of pounds on projects in the UK North Sea while paying taxes much higher than many other parts of the world.
BP has already said it will be looking at what the windfall levy and investment allowance will mean for its investment plans in the basin.
A spokesman for the energy giant told Energy Voice: "We know just how difficult things are for people across the UK right now and recognise the Government's need to take action.
"As we have said before, we see many opportunities to invest in the UK - into energy security for today and into the energy transition for tomorrow.
"Today's announcement is not for a one-off tax - it is a multi-year proposal.
"Naturally, we will now need to look at the impact of both the new levy and the tax relief on our North Sea investment plans."
A spokesman for Shell added: "We have consistently emphasised the importance of a stable environment for long-term investment.
"This is fundamental to our aim to invest between £20billion and £25billion in the UK in the next decade - mostly in low and zero-carbon products and services, with a significant amount also focused on ensuring security of energy supply for the UK.
"The Chancellor's proposed tax relief on investments in Britain's energy future is a critical principle in the new levy.
"We recognise the burden that increased energy prices have across society, in particular on the vulnerable, and have hardship plans in place to help our customers."
Oil and gas producers, many of whom have large bases in Aberdeen, will now see their headline rate of tax on profits jumping from 40% to 65%.
Ryan Crighton, policy director at Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said: "Where the industry, the Chancellor and Prime Minister agree is that a windfall tax will deter investment in both the North Sea and our energy transition. All three parties have been repeating that mantra for months now.
"In the short-term, taking an additional £5billion from a sector already taxed at 40% will achieve very little apart from making the North Sea - already one of the world's most-mature basins - less attractive to investors. Tax and fiscal stability, above all else, really matter in a globally-competitive investment market, and today we've shot ourselves in the foot.
"It is clear that the Treasury has benefited enormously already from higher energy prices, to the tune of £19million per day so far this year, and therefore offering targeted support to consumers and businesses was already within its gift, without this damaging additional tax raid.
"It needlessly puts obstacles in our path to net zero and will increase our reliance on imported energy, which comes at a greater environmental and financial cost."
The UK Government has described the levy as "temporary" and to be phased out when oil and gas prices return to "historically more normal" levels.
The legislation will also include a sunset clause, which will remove the tax at the end of 2025. However, this would not prevent further legislative action to extend the levy beyond this date.
The new tax does not apply to the electricity-generation sector - at least not for now.