Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-02-10.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2015 to Question 221932, what estimate he has made of the effect of the reduction in the rate of Supplementary Charge on levels of (a) employment, (b) exploration activity, (c) infrastructure maintenance and (d) decommissioning in the offshore oil and gas industry to date.

Priti Patel

The government recognises the importance of the UK oil and gas industry and its contribution to energy security and the UK economy. We are committed to the future of the industry and creating the right conditions to maximise economic recovery.

At Autumn Statement, the government published a radical plan for the future of the oil and gas fiscal regime and set out a package of measures, including the reduction in the rate of the Supplementary Charge, to tackle the fiscal challenges and ensure the UKCS continues to attract investment, simplify the current system, and remove barriers at all stages of the production life cycle. The package is expected to drive around £7bn of additional investment and 350m barrels of oil equivalent production.