OEUK is “concerned” about the new government’s offshore windfall tax and ongoing licensing plans, according to a statement released on its website.
The body, a trade group representing the UK’s offshore energy industry, congratulated Labour leader Keir Starmer on last week’s election victory.
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OEUK confirmed it is “committed to working with the new government on the next steps to a homegrown energy transition, to safeguard energy security, jobs and skills and create an irresistible investment environment here in the UK”.
However, the body warned in a statement on Friday that “many of the industry’s skilled people and investors remain deeply concerned about Labour proposals for a further windfall tax on homegrown oil and gas production and to end new oil and gas licences in UK waters”.
In its election manifesto, Labour said it will increase by three percentage points a windfall tax on energy producers first imposed in 2022. The current 35% tax, which will run until 2029, brings the total tax burden on producers to 75%.
The trade group added that such measures “would not create the investment conditions the UK needs to deliver the homegrown energy transition needed to kick-start economic growth”.
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By GlobalDataThe UK offshore energy industry is set to invest £200bn ($256.38bn) over the next decade in domestic energy projects.
The group said “jobs and secure homegrown energy offered by the UK’s unique mix of oil and gas, wind, hydrogen and carbon capture technologies offer an exciting future, but the industry needs renewed confidence in order to invest”.
More than 200,000 jobs across the country are currently supported by domestic oil and gas production, wind, hydrogen and carbon capture technologies, said the group.
David Whitehouse, chief executive of OEUK, said: “The Labour party has put economic growth at the heart of its plans, and our offshore energy sector can deliver just that.
“Labour leadership has recognised that North Sea oil and gas will be with us for decades to come and committed to managing this strategic national asset in a way that does not jeopardise jobs,” he added.
The body claimed that the transition is estimated to cost £1.4trn, the lion’s share of which will need to come from the private sector.
Whitehouse said he needs the “new Labour government to follow through on assurances to work in partnership with the sector, listen to our skilled people and ensure no one is left behind in the UK’s energy transition”.
Ed Miliband has been confirmed as the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, as Keir Starmer forms his government after winning a huge parliamentary majority.
Miliband – who served as Labour leader from September 2010 until 2015, and held the shadow energy brief since April 2020 – replaces Conservative Claire Coutinho. He also served as energy secretary under former prime minister Gordon Brown from 2008 to 2010.
Miliband has said previously that in the first weeks of a Labour Government he would overturn an onshore wind ban in England and relax planning rules.
