The chairman of Serica has said running an energy firm in a war zone is the only thing more challenging than the North Sea right now.
David Latin has delivered a stinging criticism of the UK in a statement ahead of the firm's AGM today.
He warned that the Energy Profits Levy and Labour's plans to extend it further risks cutting investment, jobs and production across the ageing basin.
"I have been involved in this industry for more than 30 years and have worked all over the world," he said.
"Other than when I was responsible for a company which had significant assets in a war zone, I have never encountered a situation which was so challenging when it comes to making investment decisions, and planning for the future more generally, as it is in the UK at present."
Serica produces around 5% of the UK's gas and produces around 44,000 barrels per day.
Mr Latin said the UK is careering down a path which will leave it increasingly reliant on imports.
He said: "The UK consumes almost twice as much oil and gas as it produces. This deficit will persist even as the country seeks to reduce its consumption of hydrocarbons.
"Consequently, every barrel of oil and molecule of gas used but not produced in the UK is imported. Without continued investment in our homegrown oil and gas sector, the gap between UK production and consumption will only widen, to be filled inevitably by imports.
"These imports worsen our national balance of payments, only deliver jobs and taxes to foreign countries and, typically, have higher production and transportation carbon emissions by the time they get to our shores."
In what appears to be a direct message to the Labour Party, Mr Latin adds: "We hear much reference in the UK political debate to terms such as 'proper windfall tax', 'oil and gas giants' and 'closing loopholes'. These phrases reflect fundamental misconceptions.
"UK oil and gas producers already pay tax at an overall rate of 75%, three times the tax rate for UK companies operating in other sectors. This is despite the period of so-called "windfall" conditions for UK producers having long passed, with oil and gas prices having returned to historically normal levels. Yet in the current General Election, no reduction to match the circumstances is proposed by the Conservative Party and yet another increase in the tax rate to 78% is proposed by the Labour Party."
He went on: "As to the claim that the tax is being paid by the "oil and gas giants", it is in fact independent companies like Serica who are most affected.
"The 'majors' account for only around a third of UK production and the vast majority of their profits are made overseas and are not touched by increasing tax rates on UK production."
Mr Latin said closing "loopholes in UK oil and gas tax seems to mean different things to different people".
He adds: "Whatever is meant, I wish to be crystal clear that reducing tax relief for capital expenditure below the rate at which tax is payable would make investment in the vast majority of UK North Sea projects unprofitable, meaning that these projects, and the jobs and tax revenues they would generate, simply will not happen.
"Oil and gas continue to flow only when the mains supply of investment stays open. Without it, the flow dries up."