More than 100 North Sea oil and gas projects and £50billion of private investment could be unlocked if the UK Government reforms its windfall tax and backs domestic production, industry leaders have said.
Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) is urging Chancellor John Healey to use next month’s Budget to bring forward reforms to the Energy Profits Levy (EPL), warning that delays risk shrinking the investment opportunity.
Its 2026 economic report identifies 111 additional projects which could proceed under a more competitive tax and regulatory regime from 2027, unlocking 3.25billion barrels of oil and gas production and helping sustain domestic energy supplies.
The report also highlights the growing economic cost of the UK’s dependence on overseas energy.
In 2025, the UK’s net spend on imported oil, gas and electricity totalled £84billion, equivalent to around 2.8% of GDP.
OEUK said: “An increasing import dependence transfers economic value overseas. If we do not produce the energy we need ourselves, demand does not disappear - we simply import more.
“The result is that jobs, investment, tax revenues and industrial opportunities are increasingly realised elsewhere rather than within the UK.”
Ben Ward, OEUK’s market intelligence manager, said: “In total, 111 additional projects were identified as being considered for investment, should we see suitable reform to the energy profits levy in early 2027 - alongside a regulatory framework that clearly promotes domestic supplies over imports.
“Together, these projects unlock 3.25bn barrels of oil and gas production. It sustains jobs and it generates more than £70bn to the UK economy.”
OEUK said most of the projects sit within existing licensed areas, meaning they could be developed without the new exploration licences Labour has pledged to stop issuing.
Chief executive David Whitehouse also called for timely decisions on Jackdaw and Rosebank, arguing that the issue goes beyond the two developments to the wider pipeline of North Sea projects.
He said: “We’ve heard the language from Andy Burnham. He’s been very clear that we will use oil and has for decades to come and our choice is where do we get it from. That is helpful language.
“Now we need to see the policy decisions and fundamentally, a very clear statement that the UK is going to back energy of all kinds. Now is the time to shift from more supportive language into policy decisions.”
A UK Government spokesperson said: “We’re giving the sector and its investors the long-term certainty to plan, invest and support jobs with plans to replace the Energy Profits Levy when it ends by 2030, or earlier if its price floor is triggered.
“We are also making sure the North Sea has a prosperous and sustainable future through record investment that helps deliver the next generation of skilled jobs while growing the clean energy industries of the future.”