Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether energy companies which are granted future oil and gas and licences will be eligible for tax reliefs for (a) exploration and production and (b) decommissioning costs; and what estimate his Department has made of the costs to the Exchequer of any such tax reliefs.

HMRC publish estimates for the Exchequer cost of tax reliefs in recent years. The latest estimate, published in December 2021, can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tax-relief-statistics.

HMRC also publish an estimate of future Exchequer costs arising due to decommissioning in their Annual Report and Accounts. The most recent estimate is in the HMRC Annual Report and Accounts 2020 to 2021 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-annual-report-and-accounts-2020-to-2021. This estimate is based on a range, provided by the Oil and Gas Authority, for expected decommissioning costs for oil and gas infrastructure in the UK Continental Shelf over the remaining life of the North Sea basin.

All taxes are kept under review and any changes are considered and announced by the Chancellor.