Scotland Accuses UK of Downplaying North Sea Reserves

The bickering between the United Kingdom and Scotland continues with an open-faced debate about oil and gas reserves that could be a central theme of the next 4 weeks of political campaigns.  

Scotland’s Energy Minister Fergus Ewing openly said that the British estimate of remaining reserves is misleading.  

“Oil is a bonus for an independent Scotland’s economy, and not the basis – our onshore tax revenues, excluding oil and gas, are roughly the same as those in the rest of the UK. As Standard & Poor’s have observed, even without North Sea oil and gas, Scotland is a wealthy country which, as an independent country, would qualify for their ‘highest economic assessment’,” Ewing said in a statement published on Wednesday evening. 

The British Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) intervened on Thursday,  saying that the UK Government is not hiding oil or gas discoveries.  

‘There is no dispute that the North Sea is still a hugely valuable resource, but we must note that over the past two years North Sea tax revenues were around £5 billion less than the Scottish Government’s lowest estimate. The YES Campaign continues to base their argument for independence on the very optimistic claim that there is £1.5tn worth of oil and gas remaining in the North Sea – 12 times higher than the independent Office of National Statistics,’ DECC responded.

Recently, Aker Solutions said it plans to expand its operations in Scotland, investing more than £150m in Aberdeen.