Scottish Conservative Energy Spokesperson Murdo Fraser has questioned the Scottish Government’s lack of detail on the impact of independence for the oil and gas industry.
During a debate on Scotland’s future the Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP will raise the issue of oil and gas decommission costs as well as the proposed timescale for transition into an independent state.
Speaking in the Chamber Murdo Fraser MSP said:
"So while the economy across the UK and in Scotland is growing, there continue to be threats to that success. Scotland’s oil and gas industry has been absolutely vital for our economic success in recent decades. Yet, as this Parliament’s Economy Committee heard in Aberdeen on Monday, there are real concerns in the industry about the transition to independence.
"Both Professor Alex Kemp of Aberdeen University, and Penelope Warne, Senior Partner of CMS Cameron McKenna, raised concerns about the timescale for these transitions to independence of a mere 18 months. Professor Kemp said, in terms of all the work that would have to be done in restructuring the tax and regulatory regimes this was “very, very tight”. Crucially, there would be a need for a high level of expertise to be brought in by the Scottish Government to set up a new licensing regime and resolve all the issues that would arise, and it is unclear from where this could be drawn.
"Penelope Warne told us that there were some 13,000 treaties affecting the oil and gas sector which will require to be renegotiated. There is simply nobody within the Scottish Government today who has that level of expertise.
"I checked the Scottish government’s White Paper to see what it had to say about the transition to independence for the oil and gas sector, but I struggled to find a single mention. And yet this is a vitally important question for the energy sector, and for Scotland’s economy more generally.
"The other great challenge facing the oil and gas sector is the cost of decommissioning. Who is to pay for the vast sums involved? The Scottish Government believes some of the liability should fall on Westminster. But the self same Scottish Ministers are saying that, in the event of Westminster maintaining its position on the currency union, then they would default on Scotland’s share of UK national debt. If the Scottish Government were to maintain that foolhardy position, then the whole decommissioning costs would fall on the Scottish taxpayer, with most serious consequences."