The case for a windfall tax on North Sea oil is hard to fault

Half a dozen new fields are reportedly set to get the green light this year. A tax on the proceeds would give consumers a break from high energy prices, argues James Moore

A number of new oil and gas fields are expected to be approved in the North Sea (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Another day, another oil company printing money. This time it’s BP, recently described as “a cash machine” by its CEO Bernard Looney.

Those are words I imagine he wishes he could eat. During a growing clamour for a windfall tax on oil companies, you can file them under “unhelpful at best”.

Looney’s cash machine spat out $13bn (£9.6bn) over the last year – which would require a fleet of oil tankers to remove from an ATM if it were delivered in actual notes.