Scrapping North Sea windfall tax would not reduce UK energy bills, say experts

An oil rig in the Cromarty Firth, Invergordon, in 2023. The tax was brought in during the last oil crisis, in 2022, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA Media

Easing the windfall tax on the North Sea would do nothing for hard-pressed consumers, and merely fatten the profits of oil and gas companies, economists and experts have told the Guardian.

Rachel Reeves, the UK chancellor, is understood to be considering reductions to the energy profits levy, or potentially scrapping it and replacing it with a lower duty. Oil prices rose to $100 a barrel on Monday, as the US-Israel offensive on Iran showed little sign of halting.