August 2007

Eamon Ryan’s decision to impose a resource tax on offshore operators is sure to receive a cool response, writes Lorna Siggins , Marine Correspondent
“When are we going to get rid of this bloody chancellor? Does he want the oil and gas industry and the jobs it provides to disappear?” The offshore exploration industry does not take interference in its activities lightly, judging by this reaction from an Aberdeen chief executive almost two years ago when Gordon Brown, now Britain’s prime minister, introduced a windfall tax on North Sea companies.