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The cable-laying vessel NKT Victoria works off the coast of Marske by the Sea as it lays a cable as part of the Sofia Offshore Wind Farm project on August 17, 2024. in Marske By The Sea, UK.
Ian Forsyth | Getty Images News | Getty Images
President-elect of the United States Donald Trump on Friday called on Britain to “open up” the North Sea, accusing the country’s Labor government of making a “very big mistake” with its energy tax policy.
His comment was a response to a the report on the plans of the American oil and gas unit Apache to stop its activities in the North Sea by the end of 2029.
The Texas company reported in an SEC filing Last year, continued production in the UK’s North Sea became unprofitable due to the impact of Britain’s windfall tax, a policy officially known as Energy income tax (EPL).
“The UK is making a very big mistake. Discover the North Sea. Get rid of windmills!’ Trump said on the social media platform Truth Social.
Last October, Britain’s ruling Labor Party said it would increase the tax on windfall profits for North Sea oil and gas producers to 38% from 35% and extend the policy’s end date to March 2030.
The money raised from the windfall tax will be used to support the UK transition away from fossil fuels, which the government says will strengthen the country’s energy security and energy independence.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stands next to a wind turbine during a visit to the RWE Brechfa Forest West wind farm in Pencadera, south Wales, on August 20, 2024.
Ben Birchall | Afp | Getty Images
CNBC contacted a spokesperson for the UK Department of Energy Security and Net Zero for a response to Trump’s social media post.
A shell declined to comment when contacted by CNBC. The best British manufacturer in the North Sea Harbor Energy and energy BP were unavailable for response.
The North Sea is considered to be one of Britain’s best sources of permanent offshore wind energy, and several European countries alongside the UK have laid down to turn the area into Europe’s largest “green power station”.
The offshore wind sector is developing rapidly experienced a difficult time in recent years, however, has been weighed down by rising costs, supply chain disruptions and higher interest rates.
