North Sea oil and gas industry offered ‘get-out’ clause on windfall tax

Jeremy Hunt hopes suspending tax on oil profits if Brent crude falls below $71.40 a barrel will aid investment

Jeremy Hunt has offered the North Sea oil and gas industry a get-out' clause from the windfall tax on fossil fuel profits if wholesale energy market prices fall back to normal levels.

The chancellor hopes to boost investment in the North Sea by agreeing to suspend the windfall tax on oil profits if the market price for Brent crude falls below $71.40 a barrel, and gas prices fall below 54 pence a therm, for a period of six months. The global oil price is currently about $75 a barrel, and the UK's gas price is about 64 p/th.