Chancellor to meet oil and gas industry leaders in Aberdeen

Rishi Sunak will host a roundtable with representatives from the sector on Thursday.

Rishi Sunak will meet oil and gas industry bosses in Aberdeen on Thursday (Aaron Chown/PA) (PA Wire)

Rishi Sunak will meet leaders from the North Sea oil and gas industry during a visit to Aberdeen.

The Chancellor is expected to host a roundtable with industry representatives on Thursday to discuss the transition to net-zero and the recent levy on the profits of oil and gas companies.

The energy profits levy is expected to pay for £5 billion of the UK Government’s emergency cost-of-living support package.

The Chancellor will meet oil and gas industry leaders and workers during his visit to Aberdeen (PA) (PA Archive)

The Government says the levy has an allowance which will lead to an overall increase in investment in the sector.

Mr Sunak will also discuss the role of the North Sea in the UK’s energy security and take questions from workers in the industry in a “Treasury Connect” session.

His visit comes after it was announced that May’s inflation figure hit 9.1%, up from 9% in April to a new 40-year high.

Ahead of the visit, Mr Sunak said: “Following (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine, we see the importance of the UK’s energy supply and security now more than ever.

“The North Sea will be the foundation of the UK’s energy supply in the decades to come as we transition to cleaner ways to fuel our country.

“It’s vital we encourage continued investment by the oil and gas industry in the North Sea and our new investment allowance provides huge tax reliefs for projects that cut emissions.

“I look forward to hearing about the projects Scottish industry have planned as they continue to lead the charge to net-zero with new innovations and investment.”

The Chancellor announced the emergency cost-of-living support package last month, saying £5 billion of it would be paid for by the levy on the profits of oil and gas giants and around £10 billion will be covered by extra borrowing.