Accredited official statistics

Government revenues from oil and gas production September 2025

Updated 24 September 2025

© Crown copyright 2025

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/government-revenues-from-uk-oil-and-gas-production--2/government-revenues-from-oil-and-gas-production-september-2025

1. About this release

This publication contains statistics of government revenues from UK oil and gas production.

2.Key findings

The headline findings in this year’s publication are:

  • total revenues from UK oil and gas production were £4.5 billion in financial year 2024 to 2025, compared with £6.1 billion in 2023 to 2024, a reduction of £1.6 billion (27%)

  • Offshore Corporation Tax receipts (net of repayments), comprising Ring Fence Corporation Tax and Supplementary Charge, decreased from £3.0 billion in 2023 to 2024 to £2.0 billion in 2024 to 2025, a reduction of £1.0 billion (34%)

  • Energy Profits Levy receipts decreased from £3.6 billion in 2023 to 2024 to £2.9 billion in 2024 to 2025, a reduction of £0.7 billion (20%)

  • lower energy prices in 2024 to 2025 and a decrease in oil and gas production were the main factors explaining the drop in overall receipts compared with 2023 to 2024

Chart 1 shows oil and gas tax revenues over the last 6 years (from financial year 2019 to 2020 up to and including 2024 to 2025). It shows overall net receipts and the constituent parts.

Key observations from Chart 1 are:

  • Petroleum Revenue Tax receipts have been negative throughout the period. Since the Petroleum Revenue Tax rate was cut to 0% in 2016, almost all Petroleum Revenue Tax relates to repayments and appears as negative receipts. Repayments were highest in 2021 to 2022 at £0.6 billion and lowest in 2022 to 2023 at £0.2 billion and have averaged £0.4 billion over the period. Repayments were £0.4 billion in 2024 to 2025

  • Offshore Corporation Tax (comprising Ring Fence Corporation Tax and Supplementary Charge) payments were £1.4 billion in 2019 to 2020. Payments fell to £0.7 billion in 2020 to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, before increasing to £2.1 billion in 2021 to 2022 as the economy recovered from the pandemic. From 2022 to 2023, the chart also includes Energy Profits Levy payments

  • energy prices remained high in 2022 to 2023, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This, alongside the introduction of Energy Profits Levy, meant that total offshore Corporation Tax and Energy Profits Levy payments reached £9.3 billion in 2022 to 2023. Total payments then fell to £6.7 billion in 2023 to 2024 as global energy prices reduced compared with the previous year and fell again to £4.9 billion in 2024 to 2025

  • net revenues across all oil and gas taxes (including Petroleum Revenue Tax) were £0.9 billion in 2019 to 2020 and £0.3 billion in 2020 to 2021. In 2021 to 2022, net revenues increased to £1.4 billion and in 2022 to 2023 increased sharply to £9.0 billion, in line with global energy prices, before falling back to £6.1 billion in 2023 to 2024 and £4.5 billion in 2024 to 2025, as prices declined from their peaks in 2022

Chart 1: UK Government revenues from oil and gas taxes

3.Publication Information

Information about the publication is listed below:

4.Key statistics

Corporation Tax receipts

Between financial years 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025, net offshore Corporation Tax receipts (payments minus repayments), comprising Ring Fence Corporation Tax and Supplementary Charge, decreased by £1.0 billion (34%).

Petroleum Revenue Tax receipts

Petroleum Revenue Tax repayments were £0.4 billion in financial year 2024 to 2025, a decrease of £0.1 billion (18%) compared with 2023 to 2024. Loss-making fields can carry their losses back to relieve profits and tax paid in previous years, subject to time limits and other rules.

From 1 January 2016, the Petroleum Revenue Tax rate was reduced to 0%.

Energy Profits Levy receipts

Energy Profits Levy receipts were £2.9 billion in financial year 2024 to 2025, a decrease of £0.7 billion (20%) compared with 2023 to 2024.

Historic revenues from UK oil and gas production

Government revenues from UK oil and gas production generally decreased over the last decade before a significant upturn in financial year 2022 to 2023 due to global events. From 2016, the rate of Petroleum Revenue Tax was permanently set to 0% and Supplementary Charge was reduced to 10%. Together with the general maturing of oil and gas fields in the UK Continental Shelf, this resulted in declining revenues.

In 2022 to 2023, high energy prices alongside the introduction of the Energy Profits Levy saw government revenues from oil and gas production increase to their highest levels since 2011 to 2012. Receipts have since fallen back as energy prices have reduced from their previous highs.

Chart 2 shows how net revenues have fluctuated since financial year 1984 to 1985.

Ring Fence Corporation Tax includes Advance Corporation Tax, charged between 1978 to 1979 and 1999 to 2000.

Key observations from Chart 2 are:

  • UK Government revenues from oil and gas production decreased significantly from their peak of £12.4 billion in financial year 2008 to 2009 to £0.3 billion in 2020 to 2021, with negative net revenues in two years within this period. The rise in energy prices throughout 2021 and early 2022 reversed this trend. Despite a decline in prices since the second half of 2022, energy prices remained at elevated levels. This, together with the introduction of the Energy Profits Levy, resulted in net North Sea receipts of £9.0 billion in 2022 to 2023. Energy prices fell in 2023 to 2024, resulting in lower receipts of £6.1 billion and receipts fell again in 2024 to 2025 to £4.5 billion

  • total net revenues fell below zero in 2015 to 2016 and 2016 to 2017, with repayments exceeding payments. This was followed by a modest recovery in revenues in the next two financial years, before they fell again in both 2019 to 2020 and 2020 to 2021. Revenues recovered in 2021 to 2022 and increased sharply in 2022 to 2023 before falling back in 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025

Chart 2: Historic UK Government tax revenues from oil and gas production

5.Exchequer liability from decommissioning

In July 2025, the North Sea Transition Authority estimated that total industry costs from 2023 onwards for decommissioning all UK upstream oil and gas infrastructure would be £41 billion in 2021 prices. HMRC estimates £5.8 billion of tax repayments associated with this decommissioning expenditure, in present value terms, as set out in HMRC’s Annual Report and Accounts. In addition, there is an estimated £5.9 billion of foregone Offshore Corporation Tax revenue. This is because decommissioning expenditure reduces company profits and hence lowers the overall tax take. Combined, the total cost to the Exchequer from this expenditure is estimated to be £11.7 billion in present value terms.

6.Definitions

How is Corporation Tax applied to oil and gas companies?

This is calculated in the same way as mainstream Corporation Tax applicable to all companies but with the addition of a ‘ring fence’. 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 tax rate on ring fence profits is 30% and is set separately from the main rate of Corporation Tax (25%).

What is Supplementary Charge?

This is an additional charge on a company’s ring fence profits (but with no deduction for finance costs). With effect from 1 January 2016 the rate is 10%.

What is Petroleum Revenue Tax?

This is a field-based tax 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 rate was reduced to 0% (it was previously 50%). Petroleum Revenue Tax is a deductible expense in computing profits chargeable to Ring Fence Corporation Tax and Supplementary Charge.

What is Energy Profits Levy?

The Energy Profits Levy was introduced on 26 May 2022 and is due to last until 31 March 2030. The initial tax rate was 25%, which was increased to 35% from 1 January 2023. From 1 November 2024, the rate increased further to 38%.

The tax base is similar to that of Ring Fence Corporation Tax but with some adjustments and restrictions. For example, finance and decommissioning costs cannot be included in the calculation of the Energy Profits Levy; and companies are not allowed to use historic losses to reduce their Energy Profits Levy liabilities.

When it was introduced, the levy included an additional investment allowance of 80%, that can be claimed at the point of investment. From 1 January 2023, this allowance was reduced to 29%, except for investment expenditure on upstream decarbonisation which remained unchanged at 80%. From 1 November 2024, the general investment allowance was abolished for new expenditure. The decarbonisation allowance was retained, but at a reduced rate of 66% to preserve its effective benefit following the rate increase.

Details of the current regime and the announced reforms from 1 November 2024 can be found in this HMRC Policy Paper.

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