The Ineos Forties Pipeline System, which connects 80 offshore gas and oil fields to the UK mainland, may shut down as early as 2030 because the new UK Labour government’s oil and gas tax policies will “suffocate” the industry, its chief executive has warned.

The pipelin enables about 29% of the UK’s oil and 30% of its gas to reach customers and was expected to keep running until the mid-2040s.

However, Andrew Gardner, chief executive of Ineos Forties Pipeline System, told London newspaper The Sunday Telegraph: “Back in 2017, we told our customers and workforce we’d operate [until] 2040 or beyond, because the amounts of hydrocarbons still left in the ground meant the oil and gas would keep flowing.

“But if Labour’s tax policy stops our customers offsetting their drilling and other investment costs against tax, then volumes will shrink – and we’re looking at 2030-35 as a more likely end date.”