ExxonMobil Criticizes UK Government Policies Amid North Sea Production Decline
ExxonMobil (XOM) shares dipped as the company publicly criticized the British government for policies it claims are deliberately undermining North Sea oil production. Chairman Paul Greenwood highlighted the closure of an ethylene plant in Fife, Scotland, citing inadequate ethane supply and high CO2 taxes as key challenges.
Greenwood pointed to windfall taxes and a ban on new production licenses as factors accelerating the North Sea's decline. "I need cheap, abundant ethane, and I don’t have it because of government policy," he told the BBC. The company paid £20 million in CO2 taxes last year, further straining operations.