George Osborne held talks with oil and gas leaders yesterday amid fresh hopes that he will slash North Sea taxes next month.
The meeting happened 24 hours after the chancellor announced that the UK Government “have a plan” to back the sector during the current downturn.
He is expected to unveil a new package of measures at the Budget next month.
Malcolm Webb, chief executive of industry body Oil and Gas UK, said there had been a “good meeting” with Mr Osborne.
He added: “We outlined the three areas where action is needed in order to secure the future of our industry, namely: regulatory change; cost and efficiency improvement; and fiscal reform.
“The chancellor listened to what we had to say and demonstrated a clear understanding of the current situation.
“Of course the chancellor did not tell us what measures he would announce on March 18, but we did come away encouraged by his well-informed understanding of the situation.”
Chancellor George Osborne meets North Sea oil and gas chiefs
