§ Mr. Skeetasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the companies which to his knowledge have deferred development of North Sea fields due to the United Kingdom tax regime.
§ Mr. WakehamWe know of no instance in which the development of a Department of Energy approved North Sea oilfield has been deferred, whether for tax or any other reason. As regards projects which have not yet received approval, the Department of Energy has been informed of one recent case of a decision to defer a field development where tax is cited by the companies as a contributory factor; other factors cited include technical risks and oil price changes.