Explained in plain English
Who owns North Sea oil?
The UK government owns the rights to extract North Sea oil and gas, granting licences to private companies like BP and Shell to do the actual drilling. These companies then sell the oil and gas, paying taxes and royalties to the government. This system is central to the debate around Andy Burnham's plans for North Sea oil.
Stories that explain this
Trump says new PM Andy Burnham will end UK 'poverty disaster'Questions this opens up
What are oil licences? Who profits most? What are royalties?This explainer came from a news story
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