LONDON, March 31 (UPI) -- British economic officials shrugged off warnings from energy companies that said high North Sea taxes would drive them out of the region.
Robert Chote, head of the British Office for Budget Responsibility, said a proposed 12 percent hike on North Sea oil and gas producers wouldn't affect their bottom line.
"We're assuming that there's no significant effect on the investment and production profile," he was quoted by The Telegraph newspaper in London as saying.
Norwegian energy company Statoil said the tax proposal would cause the company to "pause and reflect" regarding work in the North Sea.
British energy company Centrica offered similar complaints, saying the tax would harm investments.
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, however, said that, with oil prices at post-recession highs, it was still "very profitable to invest to exploit these resources."
