UK Government Rejects Oil, Gas Industry Demands To Adjust Windfall Tax

The British government stood firm on its windfall tax on the oil and gas sector in a meeting with industry executives on Friday, two sources told Reuters.

• The oil and gas industry and representatives had hoped ahead of the meeting in Edinburgh that the government would add a price floor mechanism to the windfall tax.
• Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt denied the request but said a future revision of the tax has not been ruled out, should prices decline significantly.
• The oil and gas industry executives reiterated concerns that the new tax had already curtailed producers' access to capital and risked a flight of capital from the ageing basin at a time when the government is trying to increase Britain's energy security.