Morecambe gas field after one month's shutdown for maintenance should be sending shudders through the Treasury. The energy giant had given plenty of notice that last March's surprise rise in UK oil taxation could make South Morecambe unprofitable.
Fair Fuel Stabiliser screws all concerned: Scrap it, George - Evening Standard
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He used that money to stop the planned 1p rise in petrol duty. For South Morecambe the extra levy meant the total tax rate for the gas field rose from 75% to 81%. In other words, for every £100 of gas that Centrica sells from the field it hands £81 to the Government, leaving it £19 to pay its staff, reinvest in new oil and gas exploration and production and pay dividends to shareholders. The converse of that, of course, is that every day Centrica leaves the tap turned off it forgoes millions of pounds of income but the Government misses out on four times as much in tax. Last week, the trade body Oil & Gas UK warned that at least 25 oil and gas projects worth a total of £12 billion were unlikely to go ahead unless the tax regime is changed.Fair Fuel Stabiliser screws all concerned: Scrap it, George - Evening Standard
