SCOTTISH STRATEGY: INDEPENDENCE

Scotland is moving forward with its plans to promote indigenous gas production, examining the potentials of oil and gas discoveries in offshore areas to the west of the country.

'These maritime areas include the Solway Firth, the Firth of Clyde, the North Channel and the Sea of the Hebrides,' reads a note released by the Scottish Government on Sunday.

The government is seeking cooperation with industry and academia to maximise returns from 'underexplored offshore areas.'

As part of its strategy to push for the independence, the Scottish Government is willing to prove that forecasts of future revenues from North Sea by the British Government are 'pessimistic.' Doing so, it intends to prove its citizens that an eventual independence would be economically viable.

In this context, the Scottish Government will co-host a workshop with Heriot Watt University's Institute of Petroleum Engineering. The workshop will also be attended by the industry.

"Stimulating oil and gas activity to the west of Scotland could create employment and further increase the longevity of the industry in the country. Furthermore, any future activity will be supported by Scotland's world-class indigenous supply chain with forty years of experience in the North Sea. However, only with independence will the Scottish Government have the full economic powers to stimulate exploration activity in Scotland's waters to fully develop the country's oil and gas resources," Fergus Ewing, Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism, commented on Sunday.

naturalgaseurope.com