// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
UK could 'unlock' 100 more oil and gas projects, say North Sea bosses
A legal challenge by environmental groups has halted projects being consented
The UK could supply half of its oil and gas needs without imports if the government showed more support for the sector, an industry report claims.
Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) said changes to the windfall tax on energy firms and approval of the controversial Rosebank and Jackdaw fields could unlock 111 projects, attracting investment worth £50bn.
North Sea output has been falling and projections suggest that the UK's domestic supplies will meet only about a third of demand until 2050.
Environmental group Uplift branded the report a "fantasy" and said that the Prime Minister should not listen to "self-interested demands" of oil companies.
The OEUK report sets out the industry's case for supporting domestic production of oil and gas and displacing imports, which have increased.
It calls for the current Energy Profits Levy (EPL), a windfall tax on oil and gas producers which is due to be replaced in 2030, to be scrapped by next January.
The replacement Oil and Gas Revenue Levy would be triggered only when prices spike.
The sector has long said the EPL has significantly stifled investment because it remains in place even when wholesale oil and gas prices fall.
Last year, for the first time since the North Sea began producing oil and gas, not a single exploration well was drilled.