Why the Treasury got it wrong on North Sea Oil

Treasury forecasts for last year's North Sea oil receipts were out by 21%. According to Gordon Brown, falling North Sea oil production is not the fault of his department. Or is it? asks Brian Durrant.

Below are extracts of the minutes of a Treasury Select Committee meeting on 13 December 2006 where Michael Fallon MP (Conservative, Sevenoaks) asks the Chancellor about his the shortfall in North Sea Oil receipts.

Mr Fallon: "But your own forecast was that you would receive over £13 billion in receipts from North Sea oil and now you are adjusting that to just over £10 billion, £2.8 billion out, which is a 21% forecasting error."

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Brian has contributed to MoneyWeek with his expertise in investment strategy, for example how to quadruple your dividend income and how to navigate through the stock market in the 2008 financial crisis. He’s also touched on personal finance such as the housing market and the UK economy.