Labour’s green energy plans will tax the North Sea “out of existence”, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has warned.
The Ineos and Manchester United chief said Labour’s plans to raise taxes on oil and gas producers meant “the North Sea will become extinct relatively soon”.
He said Sir Keir Starmer’s plans, which also include slashing North Sea tax allowances, would undermine Britain’s energy security and lead to increased imports from overseas.
Sir Jim said: “If we shut down the North Sea, what is that accomplishing? Because we’ll just have to import our energy.”
The attack on Labour’s energy policy comes just days after Sir Jim signalled his support for Labour.
Speaking at The Times CEO summit in London, Sir Jim also scoffed at Labour’s bid to decarbonise the UK’s electricity system within the next six years.
He described the plan as “absurd”, bursting into laughter when asked if the goal was possible.
He said: “Where’s it all [electricity] going to come from?
“Remember, gas is fundamentally important for electricity supply because the wind doesn’t blow every day. You can’t just run your hospitals on a windy day or go to school on a windy day.
“So when the wind doesn’t produce any electricity, we have to switch all our gas-fired power stations on.”
Sir Jim warned that the 2030 deadline heightened the risks of power shortages because it coincided with the expected closure of most of the UK’s remaining nuclear power stations.