The industry has called for an Energy Summit involving Downing Street, the Chancellor and leaders from the UK’s offshore energy operators and supply chains. The new taxes imposed on the UK’s offshore oil and gas operators are a backward step. That’s according to industry body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), which said that the Energy Profits Levy announced on Thursday will discourage UK offshore energy investments, meaning declines in oil and gas exploration and production, and so force an increase in imports. In a statement posted on OEUK’s website, the organization’s chief executive, Deirdre Michie, said investor confidence depended on taxes being predictable, so the introduction of a new one, without any formal consultation, would also undermine investment in offshore wind and other low-carbon energies. OEUK highlighted in the statement that the government had opposed calls for a windfall tax and added that Thursday’s announcement had disappointed the industry, undermined […]