OGJ: Scottish oil, gas potential held back by UK government, energy minister says

Fergus Ewing, Scotland Minister for Energy, Enterprise, and Tourism, took the opportunity to talk to the foreign press following ceremonies hosted by Hydro Group, Aberdeen, to mark the first anniversary of Scotland’s Oil & Gas Strategy document. A referendum on Scottish independence from the UK, currently set for Sept. 18, 2014, provided the backdrop for much of the conversation.

“We have always felt that the potential for oil and gas businesses [in Scotland] has been held back by a lack of appreciation regarding the significance of their contribution on the part of the Westminster government.” Ewing explained that this had been manifest over the years by the UK treasury’s continued expectation that oil and gas would eventually run out as a revenue source. “It was supposed to run out in the ’80s and it didn’t. It was supposed to run out in the ’90s and it didn’t. If you have a government that says the oil’s going to run out in 10 years, what message does that send to young people?”

Ewing went on to compare how Norway’s tax regime had allowed creation of an oil fund worth hundreds of billions of pounds, whereas Scotland, with similar resources, had no oil fund whatsoever.

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