Industry stalwart Ray Riddoch has said that “there will be a lot of change” in political policies as the UK general election gets closer.
Energy Voice spoke to Sentinel Subsea’s chairman Ray Riddoch at Subsea Expo in Aberdeen this week when he said: “I haven’t heard, in the conversations I’ve had this morning, anything about the general election nor have I heard anything about the Labour Party’s policies.”
The Labour Party recently made the headlines as it vowed to up the existing Energy Profits Levy (EPL), bringing headline tax rates for UK oil and gas operators to 78%.
Ostensibly this would bring rates in line with that of Norway, but with investment incentives also set to be withdrawn, sector leaders say the two fiscal regimes would not be comparable.
This has prompted backlash from the industry as trade body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) announced it will be carrying out “crisis talks” in its in London and Aberdeen offices.
Investment bank Stifel said 100,000 jobs could be lost in a “worst case scenario” under the policy as the group’s director for oil and gas Chris Wheaton said: “Everything I’m hearing is that 2024 is going to be the last year of major spending in the UK North Sea because of concerns over where the tax structure might be 2025-onwards and you can see that from a number of things companies have said like Harbour Energy, Apache and TotalEnergies.”
© Supplied by -However, Mr Riddoch believes that this policy could change as voters get ready to head to the ballot boxes.
“I actually think there’s a growing awareness in society of the need for the hydrocarbon producers to be responsible and irrespective of the party politics – and I actually think there will be a lot of change between now and the general election in the policies,” Sentinel Subsea’s chairman commented.
“Irrespective of that, I think the political parties need to be aware of the view of society and where hydrocarbons fit in because it does fit in there is no doubt about that.
He described a “maturing of thoughts” in society as people see the need to move to net zero. Mr Riddoch added: “Who knows when the next general election will be?”
As the country looks to a general election, he called for political parties to “gain an understanding of the energy requirements of the UK as we go towards 2040 and 2050.”
He argued: “I don’t believe there is a sufficient understanding of the requirements, the needs, of hydrocarbons as we go forward.”
Mr Riddoch pointed out that the likes of North Sea oil is not just used for energy as he explained that everyday household items are also produced using the hydrocarbon.
The former CNOOC boss pointed to a document produced by OEUK that showcased how often people come into contact with oil-based products daily.
“It was actually for schools, but it serves everyone well,” he said.
“It’s how many times oil touches you in a day and I think even the most experienced of individuals would do well to go back and read that particular document. It’s in everyone’s lives and we need to find an established technology to move away from that but in doing so, in that transition, we need to make sure we’re mitigating against the risk of environmental damage.”
To hear Ray Riddoch’s full conversation with Energy Voice watch the video at the top of this article.
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