Sir Jim Ratcliffe has pulled £3 billion of British investment through his energy empire because of Labour taxes on North Sea oil and gas production.
Ratcliffe’s company Ineos has blamed high costs, such the windfall tax and a levy on oil companies making massive profits, for the move. Its investment is now going to be diverted to the US.
Brian Gilvary, chief executive of the firm’s energy division, said Ineos has “stopped investing in Britain.,” LBC reports.
He continued: “Our future investment will not be [in] the UK. There’s no question of that.
“The problem is that the UK has become one of the most unstable fiscal regimes in the world from a perspective of natural resources and energy.
“It means we cannot invest with any certainty because we can’t be sure what future tax rates will be.”
It’s a familiar tale from Brexiteer Sir Jim‘s company, with the news coming after Ineos shut down its Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland this year after a century of operation, leading to the loss of 400 jobs.
Ineos has also warned its Olefins and Polymers (O&P) plant at Grangemouth could also be axed because of taxes and energy prices.
The UK windfall tax was introduced by the previous Conservative government at 75% in response to soaring energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It was later raised to 78% by Rachel Reeves and will remain in place until 2030.
A Treasury spokesperson said: “We know that oil and gas will be with us for decades to come. We will manage the transition to clean energy in a balanced way that helps communities, creates jobs and supports workers to reskill.
“The Energy Profits Levy [windfall tax] will end by March 31 2030 at the latest, and we are working with leaders from the sector to discuss the system after that.”