Trump calls to 'open up' North Sea, get rid of windmills

3/1/2025 17:05

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump called to "open up" the North Sea and get rid of windmills in a post on his social media platform Truth Social on Friday.

Oil companies have been steadily exiting the North Sea in recent decades with production declining from a peak of 4.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day at the start of the millennium to around 1.3 million boed today.



Trump's post was in response to a report about U.S. oil and gas producer APA Corp's unit Apache's plans to exit North Sea by year-end 2029. The company expects North Sea production to fall by 20% year over year in 2025.



In October last year, the British government said it would increase a windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas producers to 38% from 35% and extend the levy by one year. The government wants to use the revenue from oil and gas to raise funds for renewable energy projects.



North Sea producers have warned that the higher tax rate could lead to a sharp drop in investments and are exiting from the ageing basin ahead of the new tax increases.