Alan McCrae, leader of industry for oil and gas at PwC UK, said: “The measures announced in the Budget largely confirm earlier proposals and this will be warmly welcomed by the oil and gas industry. The introduction of a transferable tax history mechanism for oil and gas companies should help facilitate the numbers of deals taking place, and help breathe new life into the sector by making it more attractive to new investors. This will help protect and create jobs, and increase investment in both the industry and local economy.
“Any move to position the UK as a global hub for decommissioning will also be welcomed, to help bring the current aspirations to reality. There is certainly appetite to examine the tax and regulatory system in its widest sense to see if there is anything that can be done to reduce costs. Anything which reduces costs is important for the government as well as business, as increased profitability for the oil companies results in higher taxes for the government.”
