Smaller operators in the North Sea are expected to be hardest hit by windfall tax
Concerns grow for UKCS investment
Commentators are unconvinced that tax relief on spending will offset the impact of windfall levy uncertainty
UK finance minister Rishi Sunak claims his new 25pc supplementary tax on UK continental shelf (UKCS) profits “contains in it a very generous investment incentive” that will encourage activity in the basin even after its operators have been clobbered for £5bn ($6.3bn) in the new levy’s first year. But analysts are unsure the reality will match his intentions, particularly given the windfall tax could last for up to three-and-a-half years and might even become more punitive. “We have already had BP announce, in the past 24 hours, that it is now reviewing all of its investment in the UK economy in the aftermath of this decision, simply on the basis that it is not a one-off tax,” Michael Hewson,
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
