North Sea oil and gas operators are not just facing the prospect of higher windfall taxes, they are now also finding it more difficult to get loans from UK banks.
The windfall profit tax was imposed on the energy industry in 2022 amid record profits resulting from the supply uncertainty in oil and gas following the incursion of Russian troops into Ukraine.
According to data from Norwegian investment bank SpareBank 1 Markets, reserve-based lending to oil and gas operators in the UK’s North Sea had fallen by some 40-50% since the introduction of the windfall profit tax.
Houston-based Diamond Offshore Drilling has won a contract with Serica Energy for one of its semi-submersible rigs and an extension from BP for drillship work.
Serica Energy (LON: SQZ) has announced it will acquire a 30% non-operated interest in the North Sea’s Greater Buchan Area development from Jersey Oil and Gas (JOG).