Chancellor in Aberdeen to champion the UK's energy future in the North Sea

• Rishi Sunak will meet with key oil and gas organisations in Aberdeen, hear about their contributions to the net zero transition and discuss North Sea investment and the Energy Profits Levy, in which the investment allowance is expected to lead to an overall increase in investment in the North Sea sector.
• He will host a roundtable, including representatives from a range of oil and gas companies, to discuss key issues and to listen to their concerns.
• He will also host Treasury Connect and answer questions from staff from oil and gas firms.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak will be in Aberdeen today to meet with oil and gas companies and discuss increased investment, including through the investment allowance in the Energy Profits Levy and the importance of North Sea oil and gas in the transition to Net Zero.

The Chancellor will host a roundtable with the CEOs from oil and gas companies and stress the importance of the North Sea sector to the UK's domestic energy supply and security for the foreseeable future, in the context of Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

To support the industry's continued role as a foundation of the UK’s energy security, Rishi Sunak will reassure attendees that the UK government is committed to encouraging investment in the North Sea sector and discuss the recently announced Energy Profits Levy, which is helping to pay for the package of support to help people with the cost of living.

The oil and gas industry continues to be a foundation of the UK’s energy security and they are key potential investors in the clean technologies required to reach net zero. The UK government expects that the Energy Profits Levy, with its investment allowance, will lead to an overall increase in investment in the North Sea sector.

The Levy’s investment allowance means businesses will overall get a 91p tax saving for every £1 they invest and allows for investment in activities to cut emissions, which could include electrification. There are also other tax and non-tax levers to support the transition to clean energy, including the super-deduction and the UK's competitive Research and Development tax credit regime.

The Chancellor will also discuss the role of oil and gas companies in decarbonising the UK's energy supply. As set out in the British Energy Security Strategy, sourcing gas domestically in the North Sea is often much better for the environment than importing it from abroad.

 Ahead of the roundtable, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said

"Following Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine we see the importance of the UK’s energy supply and security now more than ever. The North Sea will be the foundation of the UK's energy supply in the decades to come as we transition to cleaner ways to fuel our country.

“It’s vital we encourage continued investment by the oil and gas industry in the North Sea and our new investment allowance provides huge tax reliefs for projects that cut emissions.

"I look forward to hearing about the projects Scottish industry have planned as they continue to lead the charge to Net Zero with new innovations and investment.”

Rishi Sunak will also meet front line workers from the industry in Treasury Connect, a forum where the Chancellor has the opportunity to answer questions from audience members. 

Notes to editors

• Click here for the British Energy Security Strategy
• Surging commodity prices, driven in part by Russia's war on Ukraine, has meant the oil and gas sector is making extraordinary profits. In order to fairly tax these profits and to encourage investment, the Energy Profits Levy has been introduced, with a generous investment allowance built in
• The Government’s recent North Sea Transition Deal,  committed joint investment with industry of up to £16 billion by 2030 to support hydrogen production, carbon capture and other technologies to cut emissions.
• The Government has invested £90 billion in renewable energy since 2012, during which time the cost of wind power has halved, while gas prices have increased almost three-fold.
• The Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme is the government’s main mechanism for supporting new, larger-scale low-carbon electricity generation projects in Great Britain. Contracts for Difference (CfDs) are contracts awarded to renewable generators through competitive auctions. The lowest price bids are successful, which drives efficiency and cost reduction and is a low-cost way to secure clean electricity.
• Building on the landmark Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, and accelerated by the British Energy Security Strategy, the Net Zero Strategy will drive forward our ambition to reach net zero and level up the UK by supporting up to 190,000 jobs in the middle of the 2020s and around 480,000 jobs in 2030.
• Together with the British Energy Security Strategy, it will leverage an unprecedented £100 billion of private investment by 2030.