LONDON, June 2 (UPI) -- Higher tax rates on profits for energy producers in the North Sea forced the closure of the South Morecambe field, British energy company Centrica said.
Centrica said higher tax rates set off "trigger levels at which point we shut in production and purchase gas from other sources such as liquefied natural gas," London newspaper The Daily Telegraph reports.
The company in May said it wouldn't open the South Morecambe field in the North Sea after completing four weeks of maintenance.
British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne imposed a duty on oil and gas producers to take advantage of massive oil profits reported by international energy companies.
Oil and gas developers posted record first quarter profits as energy prices soared in response to global economic recovery, a weak U.S. dollar and unrest in some of the Middle East's largest oil-producing nations.
Simon Henry, financial director at Shell, was quoted by The Daily Telegraph in April as saying Osborne's tax would have "significant impact" on the company's plans.
Osborne, however, stated that, with oil prices at post-recession highs, it was still "very profitable to invest to exploit these resources."
