Offshore staff
LONDON — Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) is staging emergency summits this week at its offices in London and Aberdeen with its operator and supply chain members.
This follows growing concern over proposals by the opposition Labour party to extend the current windfall tax on UK oil and gas production if elected to government. Opinion polls suggest a large majority for Labour in the next election, expected to be held later this year.
OEUK has warned that 42,000 UK jobs could be lost as a result of the proposals, some before the election is even called. The present government’s Energy Profits Levy has already impacted the confidence of energy producers to invest in the UK, it said.
David Whitehouse, the association’s chief executive, will convene talks with operator representatives on Feb. 20 and with supply chain companies on Feb. 22.
“If we can’t get companies to invest here, there are no jobs,” Whitehouse said. “I’m already hearing from our supply chain and from energy producers that these proposals would deliver a hammer blow to the energy we need today and to the home-grown transition to cleaner energies that everyone in the UK wants to see.
“These meetings will allow us to gather more evidence from employers to put to Labour leadership. As a sector, which supports 200,000 jobs, contributes over £20 billion [$25.24 billion] a year to the wider UK economy and has the skills and infrastructure to deliver a home-grown energy transition, we have so much to offer.”
02.19.2024
