The government has announced it will remove the windfall tax on oil and gas companies if energy prices fall to “normal levels.” The temporary windfall tax was announced last year by then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak to fund a relief package for households struggling with rising bills following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The levy…

Commentary If there is one sin worse today than producing fossil fuels, it is making money while doing it. The Australian energy industry is looking on with apprehension at repeated calls for so-called “windfall profit taxes.” There is no predicting the current government, which has shown zero circumspection against interference in energy markets at any…

California lawmakers will hold a special public hearing Feb. 22 to consider Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to impose a windfall tax on oil companies. The proposal would place mandatory caps on oil refinery profits and add industry regulations and oversight, according to the governor. The state Senate committee meeting comes months after Newsom first started…

Energy firm Centrica, which owns British Gas, has seen its profits more than treble in 2022 amid soaring energy prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The energy giant reported underlying operating profits of £3.3 billion ($4 billion), more than triple its £948 million profits for 2021. Stripping out its Spirit Energy businesses that were…

Energy bills will remain higher for years, the boss of one of Europe’s biggest gas companies has warned. Equinor Chief Executive Anders Opedal told the BBC that the cost of governments’ attempt to reach “net zero” emissions targets and windfall taxes on energy firms will make it hard for prices to fall. Norway’s Equinor is…

The increased level of UK windfall taxes on oil and gas producers has hit Shell’s earnings in the fourth quarter of 2022, the company has said. Shell revealed it will face a hit of $2 billion (£1.7 billion) to its latest quarterly earnings due to windfall taxes in both UK and the European Union. The…

ExxonMobil has filed a lawsuit against the European Union (EU) over a windfall tax on energy companies announced in September, arguing that the move is “counterproductive” and will “undermine investor confidence.” The Texas-headquartered oil and gas company announced the legal challenge against the bloc, which will be decided on by the European General Court, in a statement to media…

President Joe Biden took aim at oil companies on Monday, accusing them of profiting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while threatening to tax excess oil profits if companies do not bolster production in the United States. In remarks from the White House, Biden said he is a “capitalist” and has “no problem with corporations turning…

New UK Prime Minister Liz Truss has rejected the idea of using a windfall tax on oil and gas giants to reduce energy bills for households, saying the country will not be able to “tax its way to growth.” At her first Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Truss pledged to…

Britain’s main opposition Labour Party has announced plans to freeze household energy bills, which it said would be paid for in part by an extension of a windfall tax on oil and gas companies. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the plan would freeze the energy price cap at its current level of £1,971 ($2,377),…