The SNP will this week call on the UK Government to consider how the tax regime could be changed to increase competitiveness in the oil and gas industry.

It will specifically urge the Conservatives to conduct reviews into corporation tax rates and investment allowances.

Aberdeen North MP Kirsty Blackman will outline ways to help the sector during debate on the finance bill in the Commons.

She described Chancellor Philip Hammond’s recent review of tax relief as welcome, but insisted a failure to act now showed an “alarming lack of urgency”.

At the Budget last month, the Tory frontbencher announced plans to convene an expert panel on the decommissioning tax relief system.

It will consider how reforms could ease the sale of mature oil and gas fields and report back.

Mrs Blackman, who is leading on the bill for her party, added: “The SNP and the sector have been calling for specific support for over a year.

“The UK Government’s failure to act now demonstrates an alarming lack of urgency and support for the industry cannot be kicked in to the long grass.

“The chancellor must set out a clear and urgent timescale for further support to be put in place.”

She also pointed to the uncertainty facing the industry as a result of Brexit, with reports suggesting departure could cost the North Sea oil and gas supply chain another £200million a year in tariffs and export taxes.

She added: “The oil and gas industry has contributed billions of pounds of taxes to the UK Treasury in recent decades.

“It is time for the UK Government to take action to ensure as many jobs as possible are retained in future decades, both in the north-east of Scotland and beyond.”

Asked about the issue last month, Theresa May acknowledged the scale of the hit the sector had taken during the downturn and the serious challenge still ahead.

She also pointed to the £2.3billion package of previous support, which she said was “more than any other government” had given before.

Last year, then chancellor George Osborne scrapped the petroleum revenue tax and reduced the supplementary charge.

A HM Treasury spokesperson said: “Thanks to government intervention, the UK has one of the most competitive tax regimes in the world for oil and gas, and we have provided £2.3 billion of support to the industry over the last two years alone to support investment and jobs.”

The UK government reduced the Supplementary Charge from 32% to 10%, in “recognition of the challenging conditions facing the industry following the steep fall in oil prices”.

It also permanently reduced the Petroleum Revenue Tax (PRT) from 50% to 0%, “simplifying the regime for investors and levelling the playing-field between older and newer fields”.

It also introduced new Investment and Cluster Area Allowances, to stimulate investment in new projects and funded two programmes of seismic surveys in the UKCS (total of £40m), to encourage exploration in under-explored areas of the UKCS, the spokesperson highlighted.