Written statement on Oil and Gas Decommissioning Relief Deeds - Mar 23

Exchequer Secretary (Kemi Badenoch): At Budget 2013, the government announced it would begin signing decommissioning relief deeds. These deeds represented a new contractual approach to provide oil and gas companies with certainty on the level of tax relief they will receive on future decommissioning costs.

Since October 2013, the government has entered into 98 decommissioning relief deeds.

Oil & Gas UK estimates that these deeds have so far unlocked approximately £8.1bn of capital, which can now be invested elsewhere.

The government committed to report to Parliament every year on progress with the decommissioning relief deeds. The report for financial year 2019-20 is provided below.

1. Number of decommissioning relief agreements entered into: the government entered into 4 decommissioning relief agreements in 2019-20.
2. Total number of decommissioning relief agreements in force at the end of that year:96 decommissioning relief agreements were in force at the end of the year.
3. Number of payments made under any decommissioning relief agreements during that year, and the amount of each payment: two payments were made under a decommissioning relief agreement in 2019-20, for £54.6m in total. These were made in relation to the provision recognised by HM Treasury in 2015, as a result of a company defaulting on its decommissioning obligations.
4. Total number of payments that have been made under any decommissioning relief agreements as at the end of that year, and the total amount of those payments: six payments have been made under any decommissioning relief agreement as at the end of the 2019-20 financial year, totalling £148.6m.
5. Estimate of the maximum amount liable to be paid under any decommissioning relief agreements: the government has not made any changes to the tax regime that would generate a liability to be paid under any decommissioning relief agreements. HM Treasury’s 2020-21 accounts will recognise a provision of £258.1m in respect of decommissioning expenditure incurred as a result of a company defaulting on their decommissioning obligations[1]. The majority of this is expected to be realised over the next three years.

[1] This figure takes into account payments made subsequent to the financial year covered by this Written Ministerial Statement.