Michael Engell-Jensen, managing director of Maersk Oil UK, said the cost base for oil companies working in the UK is very high and has been increasing rapidly.
The Danish operator is one of the most significant new players to enter the UK sector after splashing out $2.95 billion last year on a package of assets from the US independent Kerr-McGee.
Engell-Jensen said his company had been "particularly aggrieved" at UK Chancellor Gordon Brown's last tax increase, which overnight cost the company $400 million.
"There
