The UK Government's North Sea policies are causing “irreversible damage” to Britain’s oil and gas industry, according to one of the country's top energy producers.
EnQuest Chief Executive Amjad Bseisu has publicly criticised the windfall tax, claiming it had sparked a swathe of job losses.
He has called for an urgent rethink on the levy as falling oil prices pile more pressure on North Sea firms, which are facing a 78% tax on profits.
Mr Bseisu said: “The recent stepdown in commodity prices has further amplified calls for the UK Government to remove the Energy Profits Levy and return the North Sea to a position of global competitiveness.
“The status quo, which sees Britain as the only country levying a windfall tax on homegrown energy producers, where no windfall profits exist, is resulting in irreversible damage to this strategic national industry and is driving job losses across the sector.”
Mounting pressure led to Harbour Energy, the UK’s largest oil and gas producer, announcing plans to cut 250 jobs in Aberdeen earlier this month.
Scott Barr, managing director of Harbour Energy’s UK business, blamed the job losses on “the Government’s ongoing punitive fiscal position and a challenging regulatory environment”.
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