North Sea industry leaders have stepped up calls for cuts in taxes that they claim are 'throttling investment' even as an Israeli-owned heavyweight has underlined how much money firms have been making in the area.

British Chambers of Commerce echoed a chorus of criticism of the Labour Government’s decision to increase the windfall tax rate in the Budget warning the move could back-fire.

The business organisation’s North Sea Transition Taskforce said the fiscal regime could deter firms from investing in boosting production in a way that might mean total tax receipts fall.

“HMT should recognise that the current tax puts the industry in the UK at a competitive disadvantage and is throttling investment,” it said.

“Businesses based in the UK have to argue for investment, often in competition with projects elsewhere in the globe. Indeed, there is a real risk that the government realises less revenue by persisting with a regime that inhibits investment and the consequent economic activity.”

In December a big force in the North Sea Ineos Energy complained the UK sector had become uninvestable in the wake of the tax hike. The group highlighted the fact it had bought $3 billion (£2.3bn) of US assets – as Donald Trump finalised well-flagged plans for the tariff bombshell he dropped on Thursday.

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The British Chambers taskforce wants the Government to introduce a new mechanism that will mean tax rates vary predictably in response to changes in the price of oil and gas.

A series of industry figures have insisted the windfall tax is unjust because firms are not enjoying windfalls at all. They note that prices have fallen well below the peaks they reached in the wake of Russia launching its full scall assault on Ukraine in February 2022.

The Conservative Government introduced the windfall Energy Profits Levy later that year to help fund measures to alleviate the impact of the resulting surge in domestic energy bills.

In a closely-watched report released last week, Offshore........

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