Johnson reaffirms commitment to UKCS oil and gas

Prime minister sees a role for the basin in greater UK energy independence, as lobby group puts its head above the parapet on windfall tax calls

UK leader Boris Johnson discussed increasing investment in the North Sea oil and gas industry and boosting supplies of domestic gas in a Monday roundtable of offshore oil and gas industry leaders. On the same day, one of the roundtable participants, lobby group Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), was emboldened to publicly refute the efficacy of a windfall tax on UK-based producers advocated by several of Johnson’s political opponents. The two may not be coincidental. The roundtable conversations included how the UK can remove barriers facing investors and developers and help North Sea projects come online more quickly. The government and industry agreed to work together to help accelerate this fur