Chancellor Rishi Sunak has pledged his support to the oil and gas industry and called for more investment in the North Sea.

Global gas supply shortages have triggered price rises around the world including a four-fold increase in the wholesale price in Britain which looks set to continue for months.

And significant profits announced by Shell triggered renewed calls for a windfall tax on North Sea profits in the UK Parliament yesterday.

'Superficial tax'

Addressing MPs, Mr Sunak said that a windfall tax "sounds superficially appealing", but that the government was looking to deal with what is a complex problem in a "responsible way".

"The obvious impact of a windfall tax would be to deter investment—it is as simple as that," he said.

"At this moment I want to see more investment in the North Sea, not less. Last year we saw the lowest amount of investment on record in the North Sea, as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy pointed out just the other day.

"There are £11 billion of projects lined up to go. I want to unlock that investment because that is good for this country, good for British jobs and good for our energy security."

'Support'

Responding to a question from the SNP's Alan Brown, the chancellor also reaffirmed his support for the oil and gas industry and its 200,000 workforce.

He added: "There is a clear point of difference between us on the Government side of the House and the SNP. We believe in the future of the North Sea, in the oil and gas industry, and in the 200,000 jobs it supports, and we want to ensure it plays an important part in our transition to net zero.

"I hope he can see that that is the right thing for Scotland and will join us in supporting that very important industry."

'These jobs matter'

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has previously called for an end to new oil and gas exploration in the North Sea.

However, Michael Matheson, the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport, said yesterday that the oil and gas sector continues to play an important role in the Scottish economy.

"Those jobs and the people in them matter and of course much of our energy use is still catered for by oil and gas," he said.

"We are clear that the sector will continue to have a vital role to play in Scotland’s energy future, recognising that the North Sea will continue to provide Scotland with an important level of domestic energy security."

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