British Banks Have Abandoned North Sea Oil

Virtually all British banks have stopped financing smaller independent oil and gas producers, responsible for the bulk of output and investment in the North Sea, Neptune Energy has revealed. Changes in the UK tax regime, in particular a windfall levy on oil and gas that was recently extended up to March 2029, has negatively impacted the ability of the country’s independent oil and gas producers to raise money. Bank financing for the sector is typically based on the value of reserves, which drops when there’s an increase in…