First Minister John Swinney has called for the Energy Profits Levy to be replaced with a new tax system, warning that the current regime is damaging investment and threatening jobs across Scotland’s North Sea energy industry.
The First Minister made the call following a roundtable with energy industry leaders in the North East, held in the wake of BP’s plans to exit the North Sea after 60 years of operations.
Energy Minister Stephen Gethins also attended the meeting with the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, alongside senior representatives from the energy sector, the wider North East economy and trade unions.
The discussions placed renewed attention on the future of North Sea oil and gas and the taxation regime facing companies operating within the sector.
The Scottish Government argues that the Energy Profits Levy is harming investment at a time when the industry is already facing significant uncertainty over its future.
John Swinney said:
“It is crystal clear that the UK Government’s destructive tax regime is harming investment and jobs in Scotland and the new Prime Minister must look at this issue as a matter of urgency.
“Scotland’s energy security and economic future depend on a fair transition, where North Sea oil and gas production is managed alongside the increasing renewables.
“That future is built on the world-class workers of the North East, powering the energy future of Scotland.
“Speaking to industry leaders today, I promised that the Scottish Government will do everything within our powers to work together with business, trades unions and the UK Government.
“What we need, above all, is for the new Prime Minister to end the unfair EPL and put in place a sensible tax regime to protect the workers of Scotland and the North East.”
BP’s planned departure from the North Sea provides a significant backdrop to the discussions, with the company having operated in the basin for six decades and played a major role in the development of Scotland’s offshore energy industry.
The First Minister’s intervention also comes as debate continues over how Scotland manages the transition from oil and gas while developing renewable energy without losing the jobs, skills and industrial capacity built around the North Sea.
For the Scottish Government, the immediate argument is that changing the tax regime must form part of that transition, with Swinney now calling on the new Prime Minister to reconsider the Energy Profits Levy as a matter of urgency.
