RE: I've decided why we will never hit a £126 Feb 2023 15:14
David to Charles Archer ...
UJO’s interests are entirely UK-based. Will UJO as an onshore-based company be affected by the UK government’s windfall tax regime, which could well become even more punitive as BP and Shell report record annual profits? Do you think the country risks discouraging investment given Harbour Energy’s reaction?
Yes of course, as you know the “windfall, tax” (Energy Levy Tax), in my opinion, is very punitive. 2022 results for the year ended December will see from the end of May only and should not be that material, relatively speaking – so we will have to wait a full year before the total effect on 2023 results will be known. However, Union Jack has an active drilling and development programme planned for 2023, and beyond, therefore our spending which can be used as OPEX (100%) and CAPEX (especially CAPEX at 120% should go a long way in mitigating our tax liability going forward.
To answer your question – yes, I believe that this tax, without a doubt, will affect negatively investment in the UK oil sector. We are already hearing the rumblings of the majors and mid-caps. From a personal view – why the oil sector and not all profit-making companies.? I guess we all know the answer to that. Finally, one could argue that it is a good position to be in to be able to pay tax on profits.