Australia’s oil industry lobby group on Tuesday slammed as “extreme” the amount the government has proposed as a levy on all of the country’s offshore oil producers to cover the cost of decommissioning an offshore field. The levy was announced in May, catching the industry by surprise but the details on the per barrel charge were not announced. However, a discussion paper posted on the Department of Industry’s web site on June 24 said a charge of A$0.48 ($0.36) per barrel would be imposed. read more “To slug an entire industry A$0.48 per barrel and not put an end date on it is over the top,” said Andrew McConville, chief executive of the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA). The levy, to apply from July 1, is being imposed to cover the cost of removing facilities and rehabilitating the Laminaria-Corallina oil fields in […]