UK’s oil industry plea for more tax breaks
Despite record profits, UK’s oil and gas industry is calling for better tax breaks to meet higher production targets
Britain’s oil and gas industry is warning that, unless activity can be
stimulated through improved tax breaks, the UK will miss the government’s North
Sea production targets, resulting in more fuel imports, higher energy costs and
lower tax revenues.
Industry body
Oil
& Gas UK said the latest forecasts suggested there would be a 20%
shortfall on a government target of 3m barrels by 2010. The new level is likely
to be closer to 2.4m barrels, according to The Guardian.
‘It must be recognised that, even in the current price environment, the tax
regime continues to have an impact on long-term investment confidence,’ Malcolm
Webb, chief executive of Oil & Gas UK, said at the release of the
organisation’s 2007 Activity Survey. ‘The primary challenge facing industry,
regulators and government now is to ensure that the UK remains globally
competitive, enabling it to attract the required investment in future and keep
the supply chain engaged on the UK (Continental Shelf),’
Another newly released report by
PricewaterhouseCoopers
shows energy and banking companies were responsible for almost three-quarters of
the £12.8bn of corporation tax paid by 74 of UK’s biggest companies in 2007.
Further reading:
Oil, gas M&A undeterred by credit crunch
Oil and gas companies get tax concessions