Darling: North Sea improvements will help

Wednesday, 28, May 2008 12:00

Chancellor Alistair Darling has made clear he is prepared to make North Sea il taxation changes.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's The World at One programme, Mr Darling said any measure to increase production would help, in the medium-term, address the current crisis.

"When you consider that part of the reason that prices are so high is because of what people expect production and demand to be in the future, anything we can do to increase the amount of oil coming out of the North Sea will help," he said.

"Although… it is a mature field – it's nearly 40 years old now – everybody knows that there are still substantial reserves there, and if we can do anything to encourage the extraction of those additional supplies of oil and gas, that will help."