Smaller operators in the North Sea are expected to be hardest hit by windfall tax
Concerns grow for UKCS investment
Commentators are unconvinced that tax relief on spending will offset the impact of windfall levy uncertainty
UK finance minister Rishi Sunak claims his new 25pc supplementary tax on UK continental shelf (UKCS) profits “contains in it a very generous investment incentive” that will encourage activity in the basin even after its operators have been clobbered for £5bn ($6.3bn) in the new levy’s first year. But analysts are unsure the reality will match his intentions, particularly given the windfall tax could last for up to three-and-a-half years and might even become more punitive. “We have already had BP announce, in the past 24 hours, that it is now reviewing all of its investment in the UK economy in the aftermath of this decision, simply on the basis that it is not a one-off tax,” Michael Hewson,
Also in this section
11 July 2025
Equinor and its partners at Norway’s largest oilfield have pulled the trigger on a fresh $1.3b investment that will maintain high output for longer
11 July 2025
Reassessment of the country’s export-facing gas policy coincides with worsening domestic market backdrop
10 July 2025
Without sanctions relief, there is little reason to believe the latest potential attempt at exports from the Russian liquefaction project will be more successful than the one last summer
9 July 2025
Efforts to restructure and boost investment appear to be working, but doubts remain about the plan to almost double crude production by 2030
