Statoil Rethinks UK Oil Investment After Tax Hike - Wall Street Journal

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STOCKHOLM (Dow Jones)-- Norwegian oil and gas firm Statoil ASA (STO.OS) has postponed more than $10 billion of investments in the U.K. following a recent tax hike on oil production.

Statoil, Norway's largest oil producer, said it has postponed development of the Mariner and Bressay field projects in the U.K. North Sea, which it entered in 2007. The firm was about to award contracts for front-end engineering and design for Mariner late last week, when the tax change prompted it to put plans on hold.

U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne last ...