UK Finance Minister Funds Exploration Offshore
UK offshore regulator Oil & Gas Authority (OGA) has been awarded a £5mn ($6.75mn) government fund for offshore exploration work.
Finance minister Philip Hammond said September 25 that "the oil and gas industry remains vital for the Scottish economy and the UK as a whole. The £5mn funding I am announcing will help exploration to find potential new deposits, and boost prospects for jobs in Aberdeen and the surrounding area. This continues the UK government’s extensive package of tax and funding support for the industry and the wider Scottish economy."
OGA chief executive Andy Samuel said: “The OGA team are delighted to use this funding to provide industry with a range of high quality new data."
Upstream lobby group Oil & Gas UK said September 26 the funding was welcome news. Its CEO Deirdre Michie said that Hammond's visit to Aberdeen the previous day sent "a strong message of support for industry and his funding announcement to help stimulate exploration – that has been particularly hard hit by the downturn – is a welcome boost."
She said the government has "already made some positive changes to our fiscal regime which have helped re-position the basin as globally competitive. Building on this, we need HM Treasury to maintain its commitment to the Driving Investment plan and also enable transferable tax history in the Autumn Budget, which we believe will further unlock the transfer market for late-life assets, encourage more investment, and delay decommissioning for as long as possible with the associated benefit to the Exchequer and the UK. We are also seeking a strong partnership with government to support our world-class supply chain and help it capture a greater share of the export market."
According to OGUK figures, UK oil and gas output makes estimated contribution of £17bn to the UK’s balance of trade and supports 300,000 jobs across the UK. Our supply chain also exports almost £12bn exports of goods and services around the globe," Michie said.
UK finance minister Philip Hammond (right) with OGA chief executive Andy Samuel (Photo credit: OGA)
William Powell