Harbour Energy PLC (LSE:HBR) slammed the “seriously flawed” windfall tax in a letter to the Chancellor of Exchequer.
The UK’s biggest oil and gas producer urged Rishi Sunak to rethink the £5bn windfall tax on big companies’ profits.
Its chief executive Linda Cook insisted to the Chancellor the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) would disproportionately impact independent companies in the industry instead of majors like Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL) and BP PLC (LSE:BP.).
“The four largest independent UK producers, including Harbour, are forecast to deliver over 440,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day this year,” Cook said, before adding: “We should all be concerned about the disproportionate impact the EPL – as currently proposed – has on these smaller companies.”
It was announced in May that a 25% tax on profits of North Sea oil and gas companies would be implemented to alleviate the cost-of-living crisis.
Cook predicted it will cost the largest independent producers over £2.5bn by 2025.
“While Harbour Energy appreciates the scale of the cost-of-living crisis in the UK, the EPL will only result in less capital being available for companies to invest in the North Sea, for both oil and gas and energy-transition projects,” a Harbour spokesperson commented.
Its shares rose 1.9% to 353.7p.