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Finance (No. 3) Bill

Let me make some progress. With an oil price of $125, people will often say, ““Most projects in the North sea are viable.”” Well, yes they are, but the industry has to compete for other projects around the world where the price is also $125 yet where the tax regime is more attractive and the risks lower. That must be taken into account in negotiation, because it is the basis on which investors in the mid-west of the United States, or in other parts of the world, will decide whether to back projects in the United Kingdom continental shelf or elsewhere.