The UK’s biggest oil and gas producer wants to reduce its exposure to the North Sea and shift its stock listing to the United States amid fears of a Labor tax raid.
In a blow to the industry, London-listed Harbor Energy is said to be considering selling stakes in its North Sea oilfields.
The move comes after Energy Secretary Ed Miliband outlined plans to increase taxes on oil and gas companies’ profits from 75 per cent to 78 per cent, which would make the tax one of the highest in the country. world.
Windfall taxes were originally introduced in response to soaring energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and will now be extended until the end of the decade.
In a new setback for the oil and gas sector, the Government is preparing to eliminate tax incentives for investment and block new exploration licenses.
In a blow to the industry, London-listed Harbor Energy is said to be considering selling stakes in its North Sea oilfields.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce the crackdown along with a series of tax rises in her first budget next week. The budget is likely to include a raid on pensions, inheritance tax and capital gains tax along with an increase in fuel taxes.
Business leaders warn that a double whammy of tax rises and the £5bn cost of new regulations on workers’ rights will hit the economy and cost jobs.
Industry group Offshore Energy UK has said the attack on the North Sea will put thousands of jobs at risk and deal a £13bn hit to the British economy.
In response, Harbor has revived its plans to move its listing to the United States, dealing a blow to the City, according to the Reuters news agency.
The company reportedly plans to acquire a US-listed company that will allow it to list in New York and move its headquarters to the United States.
Harbor stopped its search for a US company last year when it decided to buy the non-Russian portfolio of German rival Wintershall Dea for £8.5bn.
That deal, struck last month, allowed Harbor to diversify outside the North Sea and more than doubled its production.
The company also launched a process to sell its stakes in the Armada, Everest, Lomond, Catcher and Tolmount fields as it seeks to reduce its exposure in the North Sea, according to the report.
A spokesperson said: “We are a London-listed company and as long as our geographical center of gravity is in Europe, it would really make no sense to change the listing.”
It is not the only firm that warns about Miliband’s plans.
Ithaca Energy said in August that Labor’s tax plan would cause “long-term damage” to the sector.
A month earlier, Ineos Energy said it would prioritize expansion in the United States and Denmark as British policies “affect” the oil and gas industry.