Companies looking for offshore energy invested some £11.4 billion in 2012, a figure that will rise to £13 billion.
Oil and Gas UK credited the recent introduction of tax relief to encourage investment in difficult projects as one of the main reasons for this growth. "Here is some really good news for the UK," said Malcolm Webb, Oil and Gas UK's chief executive. "After two disappointing years brought about by tax uncertainty and consequent low investment, the UK continental shelf is now benefitting from record investment in new developments and in existing assets and infrastructure, the strongest for more than three decades."
The number of projects submitted to the Department of Energy and Climate Change and given development approval almost doubled between 2011 and 2012, with 33 having been approved since January 2012.
