Accredited official statistics

Background quality report and guidance to oil and gas statistics October 2026

Updated 22 October 2026

1. Contact

Statistical Contact: ct.statistics@hmrc.gov.uk

Media Enquiries: HMRC Press Office 03000 585 158; hmrc.communications@hmrc.gov.uk

2. Background information

2.1 Taxes and tax rates

There are currently 4 main taxes that apply to the exploration and extraction of oil and gas from the UK and UK Continental Shelf. Details can be found below and further information is also available in the Oil and Gas section of the GOV.UK website.

What is Ring Fence Corporation Tax?

This is calculated in the same way as the standard Corporation Tax (CT) applicable to all companies but with the addition of a ‘ring fence’ and the availability of 100% first year allowances for virtually all capital expenditure. The ring fence prevents taxable profits from oil and gas extraction in the UK and UK Continental Shelf being reduced by losses from other activities or excessive interest payments. The current rate of tax on ring fence profits is 30% and is set separately from the rate of mainstream (onshore) CT.

Table 1: Ring Fence Corporation Tax Rate

Rate Period	Rate for Ring Fence Corporation Tax
1 January 2002 to present	30%

What is Supplementary Charge?

This is an additional charge on a company’s ring fence profits that is assessed on a similar tax base to Ring Fence Corporation Tax (RFCT) but with no deduction for finance costs. Further information regarding the history of the rates of Supplementary Charge (SC) can be found in the table below.

Table 2: Supplementary Charge Tax Rates

Rate Period	Rate for SC Tax Rates
17 April 2002 to 31 December 2005	10%
1 January 2006 to 23 March 2011	20%
24 March 2011 to 31 December 2014	32%
1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015	20%
1 January 2016 to present	10%

What is Petroleum Revenue Tax?

This is a field-based tax (as opposed to company-based tax, as in the case of RFCT) charged on profits arising from oil and gas production from individual oil and gas fields which were given development consent before 16 March 1993. With effect from 1 January 2016, the Petroleum Revenue Tax (PRT) rate was reduced to 0%. PRT has not been abolished, as companies can still generate repayment of historic taxes. PRT is a deductible expense in computing profits chargeable to RFCT and SC. Similarly, PRT repayments are treated as income in RFCT and SC tax calculations.

Table 3 PRT Rates

Rate Period	Rate for PRT
1 January 1975 to 31 December 1992	75%
1 January 1993 to 31 December 2015	50%
1 January 2016 to present	0%

Energy Profits Levy

The Energy Profits Levy (EPL) was introduced in May 2022 as a temporary levy to tax the extraordinary profits of oil and gas companies operating in the UK or the UK Continental Shelf following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It was originally intended to last until the end of 2025.

At Autumn Statement 2022, the government announced an increase in the rate of the EPL to 35% and extended it until 31 March 2028. These changes took effect on 1 January 2023. Further information on this can be found in the HMRC policy paper.

At Spring Budget 2024, the EPL was extended for a further year until 31 March 2029 alongside the introduction of the Energy Security Investment Mechanism (ESIM). ESIM is designed to give the oil and gas sector certainty that the EPL will not apply if prices fall below the levels set by the Mechanism. More information is available in the HMRC ESIM Policy Paper.

At Autumn Budget 2024, the EPL was extended for a further year until 31 March 2030. The government also increased the tax rate to 38% and removed the EPL’s Investment Allowance. In addition, the rate of the Decarbonisation Investment Allowance was reduced to 66% to maintain its cash value following the EPL rate increase. More information is available in the HMRC policy paper.

Table 4 EPL Rates

Rate Period	Rate for EPL
26 May 2022 to 31 December 2022	25%
1 January 2023 to 31 October 2024	35%
1 November 2024 to present	38%

2.2 Decommissioning of UK oil and gas infrastructure

The Oil Taxation Act 1975 allows participators in an oil and gas field liable to Petroleum Revenue Tax to carry-back losses almost indefinitely against profits it has previously made from the field, or which previous participators in the field had made. This may result in a repayment of tax.

3. Statistical presentation

3.1 Data description

Government revenues from UK oil and gas production is published annually. It is a full and official historical record of all tax and duties collected on profits from exploration and production operations of oil and gas; this covers both activity in the UK and on the UK Continental Shelf.

The information is compiled from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) records of cash payments and repayments. A pre-release of this publication is provided to senior HM Treasury (HMT) and HMRC officials ahead of publication in line with UKSA guidance on Official and Accredited Official Statistics.

Table 1 is updated from the latest cash receipts data held on HMRC accounting systems.

Revenues in Table 1 are presented on a cash receipts basis (recorded in the period payments are received by HMRC), as opposed to the National Accounts Basis used by the Office for National Statistics (which approximates when underlying tax liabilities arise).

For CT, payments of most instalments into HMRC group payment accounts are recorded as ring fence UK oil and gas receipts. However, these figures can be revised when the group payments are distributed across the participating companies based on their liabilities. HMRC asks selected companies to provide details of the proportion of their payments relating to outside-ring fence activities. This ensures our initial recording of receipts relating to exploration and production operations is more accurate; but there are still likely to be further adjustments once final liabilities are established. The CT receipts are recorded via a link to the HMRC CT system which holds all payment records.

In the tax year 2015 to 2016 changes were made to the collection of CT receipts data that enabled the splitting of overall net CT between tax payments and repayments. From this year onwards, HMRC can provide a more accurate estimate of payments of RFCT and SC payments as they are reported separately from repayments.

4. Statistical processing

4.1 Source data

The receipts information used in this publication are collected throughout the year and held in HMRC’s administrative data. These data are reported internally to management within HMRC on a monthly basis and cumulatively for the year. They also appear in published statistics on HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions.

4.2 Frequency of data collection

The data for CT receipts are downloaded every night into HMRC’s Corporation Tax administrative database (COTAX).

For PRT, repayments are made throughout the year.

4.3 Data collection

Data on CT receipts and liabilities are sourced from the HMRC COTAX. Receipts data are acquired when a company makes a CT payment. All payments are made to HMRC electronically through either online or telephone banking; CHAPS; Bacs; Direct Debit; online by debit or corporate credit card; or at a bank or building society. A record of a company’s payment is captured in the COTAX system.

Where a payment includes an amount of EPL, the company making the payment is required to tell HMRC how much of the payment relates to the EPL. Companies are encouraged to provide this information using an EPL Quantification Notice. This enables HMRC to identify and report the EPL component separately from amounts relating to CT, including where payments are made through a group payment arrangement.

Data on PRT returns and claims are recorded on a standalone database managed by HMRC’s PRT team. This was moved onto a new IT platform in 2020 and is designed to provide the functionality necessary to carry out all essential PRT tasks.

PRT receipts are processed by Corporate Finance (Shipley), through the Receipts Clearing System (RCS) and recorded in their Strategic Accounting Framework Environment (SAFE).

Figures for tax years 2024 to 2025 and 2025 to 2026 are provisional and subject to change. Changes can occur if/when more timely and detailed data becomes available. For example, payments originally made in respect of a group of companies (group payment arrangements) can subsequently be re-allocated to individual companies within the group, including companies outside of the ring fence oil and gas regime.

5. Quality Management

Internal checks of statistics are done routinely by peers within the team, as part of formal monthly and annual reporting of RFCT and PRT receipts to senior management and for the monthly HMRC statistics bulletin (see section 4.1). These quality assurance checks include ensuring consistency and alignment across different tax receipts statistics releases.

6. Relevance

The statistics cover the full population of companies and fields operating in the UK Continental Shelf. The figures provide a good understanding of how much tax has been collected, in nominal terms, under the various tax heads applicable to oil and gas production profits.

Table 1 shows receipts from all taxes levied on exploration and production activities of UK oil and gas companies over the recent past. The table covers the most recent 6 years for which we have total receipts figures; this is currently financial year 2025 to 2026. The table is supplemented by Chart 1 illustrating the changes in receipts over this period, split by type of tax.

Table 2 shows historic receipts from all taxes levied on exploration and production activities of UK oil and gas companies since 1968 to 1969. No new data is given in this table in addition to that shown in table 1. Instead it provides data on historic taxes, levies and Royalty payments, the latter of which were abolished before financial year 2016 to 2017. Provision of this complete time series means recent trends in receipts can be compared to those seen historically. This is further illustrated in Chart 2.

PRT receipts data is subject to a yearly audit by the National Audit Office (NAO) and the published tables, charts and documents are quality checked and approved by HMRC senior managers and statisticians.

7. Accuracy and reliability

These statistics cover the full population of oil and gas companies and so are not subject to any sampling error.

EPL receipts are identified using information provided by companies about the amount of EPL included in their overall instalment payments, usually through an EPL Quantification Notice.

Annual RFCT and SC receipts are published as net amounts and as separate payments and repayments. Payments are split using CT return data. As repayments cannot be split directly, they are assumed to follow the same RFCT and SC proportion as payments.

The receipts data for the most recent financial years are subject to possible revision, as more up-to-date data becomes available.

8. Timeliness and punctuality

There is a difference in the timeliness of CT receipts and liabilities data. This is due to when companies must pay their CT (receipts) compared to when they submit their CT return (liabilities). This is also the case for repayments.

Similarly, for PRT there is a difference in timeliness between receipts and liabilities data.

These sets of statistics are published in the autumn, providing statistics for financial years that end in March.

9. Coherence and comparability

The validity of the data can be measured at company level by comparing assessments with receipts. HMRC administrative systems record assessments and receipts independently, so these can be matched as necessary.

The NAO undertake a yearly audit of PRT and CT receipts to ensure accurate recording. Recording of monthly PRT receipts is reconciled with figures produced by HMRC’s Finance directorate, as recommended by NAO.

These statistics are consistent with publications released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA, formerly known as Oil and Gas Authority) and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

10. Accessibility and clarity

The published tables appear under the ‘Environment - Energy infrastructure - Oil, gas and coal’ area on GOV.UK. The main release provides commentary and charts on both the content of the tables and the data and methodology used to prepare them. From 2021 these documents are published in HTML format to enable easy access. The underlying data are confidential so are not discussed in the releases. HMRC regularly reviews its statistical publications with a view to improve the content, accessibility, and presentation.

11. News release

There have not been any press releases directly linked to this data over the past year.

12. Publication

The tables and associated commentary are published on the Statistics of government revenues from UK oil and gas production webpage of GOV.UK.

13. Cost and burden

The data used to produce these statistics are sourced from within HMRC and used as part of normal tax administration business. No additional costs are incurred to collect the data for these statistics.

14. Confidentiality

Aggregation, rounding and suppression of small numbers are used to protect against statistical disclosure of taxpayer confidential data.