Hundreds of North Sea jobs at risk after Scots oil giant reacts to windfall tax

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Hundreds of North Sea jobs are at risk following a Scots oil and gas company's decision to 'diversify internationally.' Harbour Energy, based in Edinburgh, informed staff on Wednesday, January 18, that they are cutting jobs after a review of its UK business in response to the UK Government's windfall tax, reports Aberdeen Live.The Energy Profits Levy, introduced by Rishi Sunak when he was chancellor and extended by current incumbent Jeremy Hunt, as oil companies continued to post huge profits despite soaring costs for punters.The tax rate on oil companies like Harbour Energy was increased from 40 per cent to 75 per cent after months of gas and oil prices rising.Harbour Energy say they have paid $350 million (£284 million) as a result of the levy since May.

Harbour Energy have not said exactly how many jobs will be lost, but industry sources told The Telegraph that they believe the amount will be "in the hundreds".

Harbour Chief Executive Linda Cook said: "We remain committed to playing an important role in the continued supply of reliable and responsible domestic oil and gas in the UK."However, while oil and gas prices have reverted to more normal levels, we still face a tax rate of 75% in the UK due to the recent tax changes, making investment in the country less competitive.

As a result, the EPL necessitated a review of our future activity levels in the UK and reinforced our ambition to grow and diversify internationally."Mike Tholen, sustainability director at Offshore Energies UK, the trade group, said the government needed to "rebuild confidence" among industry.He said: "These tax increases, and the threat of more to come, have made the UK a much riskier place to invest and so makes it far more likely that