| What happens when the oil runs out? |
| Wednesday, 18 March 2009 15:10 |
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Scotland is not dependent on oil to survive; oil is a huge extra benefit to Scotland on top of our many other resources, and we should be utilising oil revenues in a sustainable way that benefits all of Scotland’s people. That said, half of the oil is still to come out of the North Sea, with an estimated £85 billion in revenues. Even that is likely to be an underestimate as in 2001, Talisman Energy UK told the offshore industry in Aberdeen they believed that there was twice as much oil left to be exploited as previously estimated – a staggering 56 billion barrels. And as recently as January 2002, the discovery of the Buzzard Field holds out huge new prospects for development. The SNP is determined that a Scottish Government should use these revenues more wisely than Westminster has, so that oil will continue to benefit the Scottish people long after it has stopped coming ashore. In 2001, the SNP unveiled its plans for a Future Generations Fund, based on the successful way the Norwegians have invested their oil revenues. A share of the oil revenues will be invested in this fund for the benefit of future generations, so that oil continues to benefit the Scottish economy far into the future. On the basis of the Norwegian experience, the income from such a fund could top £1 billion a year within five years. |
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