Oil and gas industry call for tax incentives

06/July/2012

The oil and gas industry has called for tax incentives from the UK government, saying that a change in UK tax services could generate £5 billion.

A new report from Oil and Gas UK has highlighted the need for more government input in the industry in the form of tax relief. Firms operating in British waters are investing a total of more than £11 billion in the country this year, and a further £5 billion could be generated if tax incentives were introduced, according to Oil and Gas UK findings.

The Treasury has said measures introduced in the Budget were welcomed by the industry. This is also noted in the latest report, which praised the government for being constructively engaged in the industry. However, it said more needs to be done in order to encourage further investment from oil companies.

Oil and Gus UK's Chief Executive Malcolm Webb said: "The problem is, there are a number of other, what we call, fiscally tax stranded investments out there at the moment that won't go ahead unless they get those sanctions.

"The numbers are quite impressive, if we get the right incentives in place, we can have £5 billion in extra investment."