Brexit schmexit

A UK vote to leave the EU wouldn’t much affect the North Sea. It has bigger fish to fry

A British exit from the EU would not bring significant upheaval to the UK’s oil and natural gas industry, and would probably create more uncertainty for utilities and alternative-energy developers. In upstream oil and gas, Brexit would not change the most important things – taxation, licensing and regulation. The UK, not Brussels, already has sovereignty over these areas. It might, though, create some minor practical problems for oil and gas operators. It would, for instance, make freedom of movement between the UK and other EU countries slightly more difficult for Europeans – a logistical consideration for companies with internationally mobile workforces. Unless new trade agreements with th