Scotland and the Oil

 

Scotland’s net zero secretary Michael Matheson said the country would continue to “require an access” to oil and gas if it became independent, justifying the continuation of new oilfields.

Asked whether an independent Scotland would stop new oil and gas drilling on the first day of independence from the rest of the United Kingdom, Matheson was clear.

"No it doesn’t,” he said, “because we’re still some way off from decarbonising our society and we will still require an access to a level of hydrocarbons.”

The Cabinet secretary denied the 2014 White Paper, which leaned heavily on Scotland’s oil and gas industry continuing to prosper post-independent, was wrong. 

Asked whether it was the wrong economic case in retrospect, Mr Matheson responded: “No it wasn’t, because oil and gas has played a really important part in the Scottish and UK economy for many decades.” He added: “It will continue to play an important part in our economy going forward..."

 He said: “Even if you decarbonise all of your transport system and are no longer using fossil fuels, you will still require access to fossil fuels for pharmaceutical purposes, so there are other areas where you will still require access to them. So we accept that, acknowledge that and understand that."

Scottish independence: Independent Scotland would not stop drilling for oil and gas, says net zero secretary | The Scotsman