Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a Norwegian-style oil exploration tax rebate system for encouraging further oil exploration in the UK sector of the North Sea.

The Government recognises the importance of exploration and appraisal activity to the future of the oil and gas industry. The best way to support this is through a competitive tax regime, rewarding exploration by improving the economics of new discoveries.

Since 2014, the Government has significantly cut tax rates for the oil and gas sector and introduced a new Investment Allowance, reducing the effective tax rate paid by producers at the exploration stage. The UK now has one of the most competitive tax regimes for oil and gas in the world.

The Government has also funded two £20m programmes of seismic surveys, across 2015 and 2016. The data and analysis from these surveys will help to support activity in under-explored areas of the UK Continental Shelf.