Oil and gas giants in crisis talks over Labour's windfall tax

Oil and gas bosses will attend crisis talks this week over Labour’s plan to extend the windfall tax.

Industry group Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) said Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s policy would be a ‘hammer blow’.

It had previously warned it could cost 42,000 jobs and wipe £26billion off the sector’s economic value.

The organisation will hold emergency summits in London and Aberdeen tomorrow and Thursday to discuss the impact of a two-year extension to the levy.

A windfall tax is a levy on North Sea oil and gas producer profits.

Crisis talks: Industry group Offshore Energies UK said Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s policy would be a ‘hammer blow’

The Government introduced an energy profits levy in May 2022 as households struggled with energy bills. But Labour is planning to extend the policy to 2029 and hike taxes from 75 per cent to 78 per cent.

OEUK said the meetings – which will be attended by senior leaders from oil and gas firms – will allow it to gather more evidence from members to present to Starmer.

David Whitehouse, chief executive of OEUK, said: ‘We remain deeply concerned about what Labour’s proposals could do to our people.

‘If we can’t get companies to invest here, there are no jobs. It’s that simple. I’m already hearing from our supply chain and from energy producers that these proposals would deliver a hammer blow to the energy we need today and to the homegrown transition to cleaner energies.’

British energy firms Shell and BP and US oil and gas giants ExxonMobil and Chevron are members of the industry body.

The firms made bumper profits last year, raking in £78billion between them.