The UK is risking nation-wide blackouts if Ed Miliband continues "squeezing the life out of" the North Sea, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has warned.
The Ineos chief executive urged ministers to do away with the so-called windfall tax which sees oil and gas producers pay a headline tax rate of 78% on profits.
Writing in The Telegraph, Sir Jim took a swipe at Ed Miliband's North Sea policies and cautioned there could be grave consequences for the UK as a result.
He said: “Government tax policy on energy is squeezing the life out of our abundant energy reserves in the North Sea.
“The UK came perilously close to energy blackouts during this January’s cold snap, when the wind stopped blowing.
“With one week of gas storage and strained electricity supply, the National Grid was forced to issue emergency market notices.
“These warnings, and the threat of energy blackouts, will only become more frequent and more serious as domestic gas production falls and critical infrastructure is prematurely decommissioned.”
In the US, oil and gas firms are being met with a much more welcoming attitude from government and Donald Trump's "drill, baby, drill" tagline.
Sir Jim continued: “The US taxes the oil and gas industry at 21% – the same corporate rate as other industries, with a total effective tax take from offshore operations of around 40%.
“Investment there is at an all-time high. Tax rates in the UK on energy are 78% and investments are at an all-time low.
“The result of this strategy is that we import most of our energy from abroad. It is expensive. It leaves the UK strategically vulnerable, as Europe discovered from its dependence on Russian supplies.”