Donald Trump tells UK to ‘get rid of windmills’ and says raising windfall tax on North Sea oil is ‘big mistake’

Donald Trump has said the UK is making “a very big mistake” in its fossil fuel policy – and should “get rid of windmills”.

In a post on Friday on his social media platform, Truth Social, Mr Trump shared news from November of a US oil producer pulling out of the North Sea, a major oil-producing region off the Scottish coast.

“The UK is making a very big mistake. Open up the North Sea. Get rid of windmills!”, the US president-elect wrote.

The Texan oil producer Apache said at the time it was withdrawing from the North Sea by 2029 in part due to the increase in windfall tax on fossil fuel producers.

The head of Apache’s parent company APA Corporation said in early November it had concluded the investment required to comply with UK regulations, “coupled with the onerous financial impact of the energy profits levy [windfall tax] makes production of hydrocarbons beyond the year 2029 uneconomic”.

Chief executive John Christmann added that “substantial investment” will be necessary to comply with regulatory requirements.

Mr Trump used a three-word campaign pledge “drill, baby, drill” during his successful election campaign, claiming he will increase oil and gas production during his second administration.

In the October budget announcement, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves raised the windfall tax levied on profits of energy producers to 38%.

Called the energy price levy, it is a rise from the 25% introduced by Rishi Sunak in 2022 as energy prices soared following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Many oil and gas businesses reported record profits in the wake of the price hike.

The tax was intended to support households struggling with high gas and electricity bills amid a broader cost of living crisis.

Apache is just one of a glut of firms that made decisions to alter their North Sea extraction due to the Labour policy.

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