The UK government has raised its windfall tax to 35pc
UK ratchets up windfall tax
Analysts and industry are left dismayed by larger-than-expected hike and potential unintended consequences
The UK government’s mid-November Autumn Statement raised its Energy Profits Levy (EPL), or so-called windfall tax, from January next year by 10 percentage points, to 35pc, taking the overall tax burden for producers to 75pc. It also extended its life from a previous promise to repeal it when prices returned to an undefined ‘normal’ level or by the end of 2025 to the end of March 2028 with no prospect of any price-related relief before then. Analysts are unconvinced by the move. “Assuming the lights are still on, will the last energy companies to leave the North Sea please turn them off,” quips Chris Wheaton, analyst at US investment bank Stifel. He dubs the government policy the ‘windfall ta
Also in this section
9 April 2026
The April 2026 issue of Petroleum Economist is out now!
9 April 2026
Offshore operators are working through an FID backlog as the rig market consolidates, helped by improving project economics and a renewed security drive
2 April 2026
Alongside a rapid continued build-out of renewables, China’s latest five-year plan stresses the value of domestic hydrocarbon production for energy security and calls for increased Russian gas imports
2 April 2026
The government is taking important steps to revive domestic production, lift investment and benefit from the geopolitical crisis even if more needs to be done in the longer term
