On 28 February 2022, the UK updated its Overseas Business Risk Guidance to make it clear that UK businesses should conduct thorough supply chain due diligence to ensure that commodities such as aviation fuel do not reach the Myanmar military. We are engaging regularly with partners, including the US, to ensure a coordinated international effort to prevent the flow of weapons, equipment and aviation fuel to Myanmar. FCDO officials have had in depth discussions with US counterparts about the role Western businesses play in the aviation fuel supply chain.

Chevron has confirmed an intent to market its assets in the Central North Sea, however, this may not result in the sale of the assets. It would, therefore, be inappropriate to comment further.

Issues surrounding the terms and conditions of employment for offshore workers fall outside of the remit of the Oil and Gas Authority.

The Government does not hold information on how many contractor staff are employed in the above fields. Figures from Oil and Gas UK’s Workforce Report 2017 (page 7) (https://oilandgasuk.co.uk/product/workforce-report-2017/) indicate that around 40,000 contracted staff travelled offshore in 2016, the most recent year for which figures are provided.

The Government does not hold information on how many staff are directly employed in the above fields. Figures from Oil and Gas UK’s Workforce Report 2017 (page 7) (https://oilandgasuk.co.uk/product/workforce-report-2017/) indicate that around 10,000 personnel working for operators travelled offshore in 2016, the most recent year for which figures are provided.

The Chevron case concerned the tax consequences of the company’s intra-group lending arrangements.

The UK has transfer pricing rules that set out how transactions between connected parties are priced for tax purposes. In common with many countries (including Australia), the UK rules are based on the internationally recognised arm’s length principle. HM Revenue and Customs challenges arrangements that do not allocate the right amount of profits to the UK.

The UK Corporation Tax code contains a number of rules to deter companies from using excessive levels of debt to reduce their profits by way of inflated or artificial interest payments. Financial transfer pricing (thin capitalisation) rules limit interest deductions to an arm’s length amount, unallowable purpose rules deny deductions for interest incurred with a main purpose of avoiding UK tax, and hybrid mismatch rules, introduced in Finance Act 2016, counteract arrangements which exploit mismatches between different tax jurisdictions.

Finance (No.2) Act 2017 introduced a new corporate interest restriction rule which aligns interest deductions with the economic activities undertaken and taxed in the UK. The UK is the first country to introduce such a new rule to implement the recommendations of the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project and the requirements of the EU Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive. This new UK rule includes a “debt cap”, which limits interest deductions by reference to a group’s external interest expense, so a group which does not borrow externally cannot use interest deductions to significantly reduce the tax it pays in the UK.

While environmental contamination is always of concern, this is a matter between Chevron and the Ecuadorean Government and it is for them to decide how to resolve the issue.

This is a matter between Chevron and the Ecuadorean Government and it is for them to decide how to resolve the issue. We have not discussed with either the Ecuadorean Government or the US administration.

The UK uses international fora to promote the highest environmental and regulatory standard for the extraction of petrochemicals, particularly in environmentally sensitive areas. We encourage state actors and private companies to adhere to these standards.