Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of decommissioning north sea oil and gas platforms over the next 10 years.

There is considerable uncertainty in the costs, timing and the duration of decommissioning activity in the UK. The estimated Exchequer cost of the decommissioning of North Sea oil and gas infrastructure over the period 2015 to 2041 is £16 billion (nominal), as presented in Section 8.3 of HM Revenue and Customs’ annual report and accounts 2014-15:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015