The Budget on March 8, follows hot on the heels of the Autumn Statement on November 23. It is also the first of two Budgets we can expect this year as the UK transitions to an autumn rather than spring budget timetable. Usually it’s only election years during which two Budgets are delivered, but this year is an exception.
Aberdeen South MP Callum McCaig has called on the chancellor to show that all industries have his "full confidence" in this week's Budget.
Chancellor Philip Hammond has signalled he will take a cautious approach to spending in Wednesday’s Budget.
Theresa May hailed the north-east's "world class” oil and gas sector last night as she pledged her support to ensuring its continued competitiveness on the international stage.
Each time a report or study is published on maximising the UKCS potential and securing a stronger, higher oil price in the future we see one glaring similarity: the importance of increased productivity.
Scotland's energy minister Paul Wheelhouse has appealed to the chancellor to provide more support for the oil and has industry in his forthcoming Budget.
ConocoPhillips said it will reduce its capital budget by 4% to $5billion next year as it looks to cut costs.
Oil and gas companies have made significant in-roads into reducing the cost of production, but this is in the context of some of the highest operating costs in the world. With the oil price falling from the highs of above $100 a barrel in the summer of 2014, those cuts alone cannot go far enough and real fiscal stimulus is needed to drive renewed investment.
Revenues from UK oil and gas are expected to be negative for the next five years, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast.
Norwegian operator Statoil said the measures implemented yesterday by the UK Government were a "positive signal" for the UKCS.
The London market was on the front foot as traders reacted to Chancellor George Osborne’s eighth Budget with a cautious welcome.
Several years ago I spent time in Australia. Visiting a North Queensland mining community I fell into conversation with an engineer who said something to the effect that one of the biggest problems for the industry Australia-wide was the inability to fight ballooning costs and wage inflation. His further comment was even harder hitting. There were just too many people on the payroll, and too many people very well paid to perform slight-to-unimportant tasks.
The Budget this week was a hodgepodge of measures for the economy with some moves being made to help the oil and gas industry, however, yet again prime opportunities have been missed by the Chancellor to make a more substantial positive impact on the sector.
The SNP branded George Osborne’s Budget a “missed opportunity” last night and accused him of “lacking the vision” to bring forward a long-term strategy for the North Sea.
Chancellor George Osborne delivered a £1billion “shot in the arm” to the struggling North Sea yesterday.
WINNERS:
A raft of new measures brought in to support the North Sea oil and gas industry have been described as a "mixed bag" by an Aberdeen politician.
EY's head of oil and gas taxation gives his quick round-up of the changes made by the UK Government to support the North Sea oil and gas industry.
Oil major's BP and Shell have backed the changes implemented by the UK Government to help support the North Sea oil and gas industry amid the global decline in oil price.
The changes made by Chancellor George Osborne in today's budget will "significantly" help the UK oil and gas industry, according to a leading legal expert.
Oil major Shell's vice president from Upstream in the UK & Ireland said changes brought in by the government are a "step in the right direction" to help the North Sea oil and gas industry.
Energy Voice will bring you budget news as it happens. Check back later today for all of the industry reaction and tomorrow for in-depth analysis.
In yesterday’s article I set out the backdrop of a collapsing commodity price, high cost base, and tightening debt and equity markets for the oil and gas sector as the context of calls for fiscal change in the Budget tomorrow – today I explain the need for a low, simple and transparent tax rate.
New measures to plug a tax loophole widely exploited in the public sector to disguise employees as freelancers could be used to tackle similar practice in the oil and gas industry.
As anticipated 2015 proved to be a difficult year for both oil and gas companies and the supply chain companies that make up the oilfield services sector. The average price of a barrel of Brent crude in 2015 was $52.35 dollars, less than half of the average price for the years 2011 to 2013, and a little over half the average price for 2014. The average to date for 2016 has fallen further to $30.70 per barrel, less than the average Brent price for each of the years 1979 to 1982 even in nominal terms!