North Sea Lobby Presses Burnham on Windfall Tax
Industry wants the Energy Profits Levy replaced and two big fields cleared. No decision is confirmed, and the claimed gains are contested.
Industry wants the Energy Profits Levy replaced and Rosebank and Jackdaw approved, but no decision is confirmed. Offshore Energies UK and critics dispute what approval would deliver. As reported by OilPrice.com, Global Witness finds a revenue levy would raise nothing at $70 oil. This is analysis, not trading advice.
The Gulf Barrel Desk · 3 min read- Offshore Energies UK wants the Energy Profits Levy scrapped in January and replaced by a price-triggered Oil and Gas Revenue Levy, as reported by OilPrice.com.
- The trade body claims approving Rosebank and Jackdaw plus a tax change could unlock 111 projects and £50 billion of investment; this is an industry estimate, not independent data.
- Global Witness analysis, as reported by OilPrice.com, finds the new levy would raise £8.6 billion less than the current one by 2030 at $100 oil, and nothing at $70.
- Consent for both fields rests with the Secretary of State on advice from OPRED; a departmental spokesperson said the decision would come 'in due course', per Rigzone's June 2026 report.
- No decision on either field was confirmed in the sources reviewed, and no primary government or tax data was checked for this piece.
North Sea producers are lobbying the UK government to end the Energy Profits Levy and clear two stalled developments, Rosebank and Jackdaw. Offshore Energies UK, the industry body, frames the request as an investment case. Environmental groups and academics reject it. In the sources reviewed no decision is confirmed, so every figure below is a claim by one side or the other, attributed as such.
What industry is asking for
Offshore Energies UK wants the Energy Profits Levy scrapped in January and replaced with an Oil and Gas Revenue Levy that applies only when prices spike, according to OilPrice.com. The same article says the existing levy runs until 2030 and has raised about £12 billion so far. The trade body also wants Rosebank and Jackdaw approved. These are the lobby's positions as reported, not government policy, and the receipts figure was not checked against HMRC data.
Who decides on the two fields
Consent for both fields sits with the Secretary of State, advised by OPRED, according to Rigzone's June 2026 report on Offshore Energies UK. A departmental spokesperson said the decision would come 'in due course'. In that report the trade body argued Jackdaw alone could supply over 6% of UK gas by this winter if consented that summer, and that the two fields together equal about 10% of UK gas production. Those are industry estimates, and no consent was confirmed in the sources reviewed.
The investment claim
Offshore Energies UK says approving the two fields and changing the tax could unlock 111 projects and £50 billion of investment, as reported by OilPrice.com. In June it separately put the two fields at £28.7 billion of economic activity and 3,500 peak construction jobs, according to Rigzone. Both sets of numbers come from the lobby itself and carry no independent verification here, so they should be read as advocacy, not forecast.
Why the revenue maths is contested
Global Witness research, as summarised by OilPrice.com, finds a revenue levy would raise less than the current regime. At $100 oil it would bring in £8.6 billion less than the Energy Profits Levy by 2030. At $70 oil it would raise nothing, against £4.6 billion under the current levy. Because the design is price-triggered, the Treasury's take would hinge on the crude price path, which is where the fiscal risk sits. These are advocacy-group figures, not Treasury estimates.
Critics dispute the bills and security case
Uplift called the industry report a 'fantasy', and its director Tessa Khan said new drilling would do little for bills or energy security, as reported by OilPrice.com. Luke Hatton of Imperial College London said, per the same report, that the projects would not cut UK bills or improve security and that economic damage would outweigh benefits. OilPrice.com also reports that EDF Energy head Simone Rossi took the opposite view, calling approval a 'no-brainer'.
What to watch next
Watch for a consent ruling on either field and any change to the levy design. OilPrice.com describes Andy Burnham as the new Prime Minister and says he was 'open-minded' about new licences in June and has since promised a 'pragmatic approach'; that premise rests on that report and was not independently confirmed here. No primary government or HMRC data was reviewed for this piece. This is analysis, not trading advice.
- What are North Sea producers asking the government to do?
- They want the Energy Profits Levy scrapped and replaced by an Oil and Gas Revenue Levy that applies only when prices spike. They also want Rosebank and Jackdaw approved. Offshore Energies UK is the main voice, as reported by OilPrice.com.
- Who decides on Rosebank and Jackdaw, and has a decision been made?
- The Secretary of State decides, advised by OPRED, per Rigzone's June 2026 report. A spokesperson said a decision would come 'in due course'. No final decision on either field was confirmed in the sources reviewed.
- Would a revenue levy raise less than the Energy Profits Levy?
- According to Global Witness research cited by OilPrice.com, yes. At $100 oil the new levy would raise £8.6 billion less than the current one by 2030. At $70 it would raise nothing, against £4.6 billion under the current levy.