Scottish oil will "drive economic growth" for years to come says industry chief

"A RESURGENT UK oil and gas industry is expected to deliver thousands of new supply chain jobs for the north-east during 2011.Increased capital investment amid buoyancy in the market just now could lead to up to 15,000 people being taken on across the UK this year, bosses said yesterday.Scotland accounts for about 45% of all oil and gas jobs in the UK and the Aberdeen area is home to the bulk of positions north of the border – meaning a jobs bonanza for Europe’s energy capital as confidence grows in the sector.According to industry organisation Oil and Gas UK (OGUK), spending on exploration and production in the UK Continental Shelf will soar to about £8billion this year, up from less than £5billion during 2009.

OGUK chief executive Malcolm Webb hailed the findings of the group’s latest activity survey as a sign of renewed interest in Britain’s oil and gas assets.“There is huge potential,” said Mr Webb. “We have the capability and resources to drive economic growth for decades to come.” "

To read the rest of this story go to the Press and Journal

Interesting that the editor of BBC Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme found very little space for this story and its political/economic implications. Yet a whole feature was devoted (again) to sending a reporter to Ireland to remind us (again) of that country's "catastrophe". This chap filed a serious of features from Dublin a few weeks ago and each time the gloomy hyperbole gets more hysterical.  If I depended on GMS and Reporting Scotland I would know far more about Ireland's response to the economic crisis than Scotland's. If not Ireland, then the UK. Last Thursday the Scottish Government held a cabinet media briefing to explain the 25,000 apprenticeships in the budget as well as the growth strategy that means Scottish unemployment is falling and employment rising compared to the rest of the UK. That is surely worth at least some consideration/discussion?  Reporting Scotland chose instead to repeat details of the Westminster welfare reforms that had just been covered in considerable depth by the Six O'Clock news. STV, with far less resources, managed to cover the Scottish economy story on its bulletin and website.  Least we forget, political coverage on BBC Scotland is run by a former Labour activist John Boothman while the report on welfare reform mentioned was presented by former Labour councillor Katrina Renton.

Comments

[Andy Simpson]

Just imagine what scotland could do with they billions, We've won the lotto and let someone else cash in our ticket! how much longer will fear and ignorance hold us back? because thats what the unionist party's rely on to win elections.

[cynicalHighlander]

#sm753
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/25/opinion/25lynch.html?_r=1

And recovery rates — the percentage of those reserves that we are technologically able to collect — have grown from 10 percent a century ago, to 25 percent a half-century ago, to an estimated 35 percent now. In some areas, like the North Sea, the figure is above 60 percent.

[sm753]

http://decc.gov.uk/media/viewfile.ashx?filepath=statistics/source/oil/et3_10.xls&filetype=4

"Indigenous crude oil production in 2010 was 7.7 per cent lower compared with the same period a year earlier."

This must be some strange use of "resurgent" with which I was not previously familiar.

[Gavin C Barrie]

Throughout the '70s and '80s a Dutch economist consistently argued in the Engineering journals that North Sea oil resources went far beyond the claims of the UK government that it was a short term asset. As a young engineer with no experience or training in reservoir technology, who to believe? Some unknown Dutch guy, or your British government?
40 years on the oil as still flowing, new fields are being discovered, England has her Channel tunnel and the M25. I witnessed Thatcher in full England flight decimating Scottish industry.
I'm a lot more cynical and arguably a bit wiser from of that experience.
Perfidious Albion - don't trust the bas......s.

[Doug Daniel]

Bella - I don't think it's necessarily either. Peak oil has apparently been approaching almost since oil was first discovered in the North Sea, so who knows how near it really is. Regardless of that, the concept of peak oil merely informs us that we can't rely on it forever, and that we need sustainable energy sources to replace it in the long-term. I think there's still a great deal of work to be done before our technology for harnessing Scotland's great renewable energy potential is fully matured, so in the meantime it would be silly to dismiss oil as it is an important energy source. Obviously we should be trying to limit/decrease our usage of it to lessen the harm we're inflicting on the environment, but we can't ignore the fact that we have such a rich natural resource to help build Scotland's economy until renewable energy really comes into its own as an industry.

Also bear in mind that crude oil gives us more than just petrol for our cars and kerosene for aircraft - for one thing, it's vital for the plastic that we use for many everyday things, including computer keyboards! I think the non-fuel uses of oil are often forgotten about in public debate.

[barontorc]

Bella is right on the button - why are we depleting, or should I say why is the UK given free rein to deplete Scotland's oil resources for cash-cow gain?

There is no social investment stemming from the exploitation, so why is it allowed even from a unionist point of view?

The use of oil in the UK is too much and should be progressively trimmed back to see at the very least a conserved attitude with Scotland's oil resource.

The yet to be admitted ownership and rights of these resources within Scottish territory, as being Scots property, will reflect back on the overproduction and alleged illegal draw from Scottish waters.

Not to mention the pressing issues of the environment.

[Bella Caledonia]

While I agree with the analysis of BBC Scotland I'm still astonished that we can discuss oil and finite fossil fuels as if peak oil and climate change dont' exist. Never sure whether this is wishful thinking or ignorance?

[Alibi]

You are right to highlight again the appallingly slanted reporting on BBC Scotland. I assume they couldn't find a sick polar bear to interview...

[Colin]

While this is good for Scotland right now, my fear is that we are back to Maggie's "pump that oil" philosophy, rather than (like Norway) managing the oil resource for maximum longevity. The union wants to grab as much of Scotland's oil as it can with their growing fear of Scottish independence.