In the UK, the government has singularly failed to adjust North Sea tax regulations to encourage investment and growth.The last two years have seen the highest percentage fall in production and the largest outflow of investment from the UK energy sector in at least a decade.

The government has done nothing to support UK suppliers, offering huge, no-strings tax concessions to large international operators without any requirement for British content. Amber Rudd, our fifth energy minister in five years, is now hostage to the Oil & Gas Authority, which itself is largely composed of the energy lobby. Their interests conflict with their statutory mandate.

Amber Rudd’s department has failed utterly to develop a coherent energy policy. Their performance so far has been marked by broken promises and u-turns, and we’re beginning to pay the price of such an unpredictable environment.

It’s time for urgent action from the government to wake up to these market forces and what they mean for British consumers, British firms and British industry. We’ve failed to benefit from the plunge in prices; it’s now essential not to be caught out by the rebound.