2009 UK budget offers fiscal incentives for challenging fields

摘要

Recently rolled out government incentives, attempting to attract investment in the more challenging new UK fields, are a positive sign of government and stakeholder engagement. Earlier this year, Alistair Darling, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced changes to the UK North Sea tax regime, the most important of which aims to encourage the development of new fields. The incentives targeted small fields, heavy oil fields, and those at the extreme highs of temperature and pressure. The incentives on heavy oil fields are likely to have the biggest impact in encouraging development and could be enough for operators to sanction a number of such fields.