MSPs will vote on the future of the oil and gas industry during a debate brought by the Scottish Conservatives tomorrow designed to exert pressure on the SNP.
It follows an announcement last week that work on the controversial 800 million barrel Cambo oil field off Shetland was being paused.
Siccar Point Energy, the company behind the development, said Shell’s decision to withdraw its 30% equity meant they could not continue with their timescale to start drilling.
The Scottish Government had earlier called on the UK Government to “reassess” approved oil licences in line with climate commitments as he former called for a “just transition” away from oil and gas to renewable energy.
Environmental groups have long opposed the Cambo oil field and welcomed news it was on hold.
READ MORE: Why Yes case needs to offer that ‘shining city on a hill’
The Tories’ opposition debate will take place tomorrow afternoon.
Scottish Conservative net zero spokesman Liam Kerr said: “The corrosive influence of the Greens in parliament is already costing Scottish jobs, and may well have cost us the entire Cambo project.”
He continued: “The SNP-Green Government’s naive understanding of our energy needs will only force Scotland to import more energy from abroad, costing the public more and increasing emissions.
“The Scottish Conservatives believe that our oil and gas industry has a crucial role to play in our journey to net zero.
“The SNP’s decision to abandon the oil and gas industry in Scotland could destroy Scottish livelihoods for no environmental gain whatsoever – and the Scottish Conservatives are determined to hold the Scottish Government to account on this deeply unjust move.”
Last month Nicola Sturgeon said Cambo should not be given the green light prompting SNP politicians in the north east of Scotland to raise concerns over the impact of such a decision on the area’s economy which is still heavily dependent on North Sea drilling. The decision will be taken by the UK Government.
Senior party figures in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, where the majority of the 100,000 jobs supported by the oil and gas industry are based, warned that rejecting the Cambo proposal would be worse for the environment and severely harm the economy.
The First Minister had said she did not believe the development should go ahead in a shift from her position of demanding environmental impact assessments.
READ MORE: UK 'power grab' on Scottish subsidies decisions blasted in Commons
Writing for The Times last month, Fergus Mutch – the former SNP head of press and research – who stood for election in Aberdeenshire West at the Holyrood election in May, said opposing Cambo and other developments risked a “Thatcherite decimation of an industry” with “jobs flung on the scrapheap”.
Gillian Martin, the Aberdeenshire East MSP, urged ministers to recognise that decreasing domestic oil and gas supply would lead to greater imports that would have “a far greater impact on our carbon footprint” than drilling. Jackie Dunbar, the Aberdeen Donside MSP, warned against “a hard shutdown of the oil and gas sector” that would see Scotland “reliant on imports with thousands left unemployed”.
The Conservatives have made gains in the northeast in recent years. Although Dunbar and Martin won comfortably in May, there were swings of 12.4 points and 6.1 points respectively away from the SNP in their constituencies.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel