Nicola Sturgeon is facing backlash for her stance on the Cambo field after Shell pulled out of the project and business leaders warned that jobs were at stake.
Scotland’s First Minister rejected her position last month, saying she did not want to see the project proceed.
Last night, it was reported that Shell, the oil giant, was no longer involved in the development. The move could mark the end of oil production in the UK. However, Siccar Point, which owns the majority of the Cambo sector, says it intends to continue.
This morning, Sir Ian Wood, one of the UK’s oil and gas industry’s most respected leaders, urged politicians to “think carefully about their public statements” and the impact their investment in the industry.
“We must not create an unfavorable investment climate at this critical point in our energy transition,” he said. The future prosperity of our region and the country’s ability to meet net zero depend on it.
“It has been clearly stated that we cannot put ourselves in a position to reduce domestic production just to increase carbon heavy imports from abroad. This would be completely counterproductive, both environmentally and economically.
“The skills, experience and infrastructure of a world-class oil and gas industry will play a key role in accelerating the energy transition and meeting net zero.”
Russell Borthwick, managing director at the Aberdeen and Grampian Chambers of Commerce, said: “Oil and gas will continue to be required throughout the transition to net carbon and new fields will be required to meet them. meet our domestic supply needs during this time.
“The alternative is to import oil and gas from other parts of the world, which would increase the carbon footprint of our energy use. This would be madness. We need governments, industry and politicians of all sides to put our transition steps in the right order to protect jobs, provide retraining opportunities and create new jobs. new job. ”
Shell has a 30% stake in Cambo. The decision to withdraw from the project raises questions about whether the offshore oil and gas industry can develop any new locations. Green groups have lobbied to block the project, which projects up to 170 million barrels of oil over 25 years.
Wood, one of Scotland’s most successful entrepreneurs, described Sturgeon’s comeback last month as “counterproductive and damaging”. He said there was evidence that hydrocarbons would be needed to meet energy demand at least until 2060, and that premature termination of activities would risk up to 100,000 jobs.
Shell said in a statement: “Following a comprehensive examination of the proposed Cambo development, we have concluded that the economic situation to invest in this project is not strong enough at this time, as is the possibility of delay. However, continued investment in oil and gas in the UK remains critical to the country’s energy security.
Jonathan Rogers, chief executive officer of Siccar, said: “While disappointed by Shell’s change of heart, we remain confident of the qualities of a project that has not only created more than 1,000 direct jobs. but also thousands of other jobs in the supply chain, but also makes it easier for the UK to transition to a low carbon future through responsibly produced domestically produced oil rather than increasingly dependent on strong imports. relatively higher carbon. We will continue to engage with the UK government and broader stakeholders on the future development of Cambo. ”
Scottish Greens Patrick Harvie, who served in Holyrood as minister for zero-carbon buildings, was accused of cheering for the possibility of job losses. He told BBC Radio Scotland it’s great that the Cambo project looks like it’s on the slide”.
Liam Kerr, the Scottish Conservative Party’s shadow minister for net zero, described Harvie’s stance as “disgraceful” and said: “Project Cambo not going ahead puts Scots jobs at risk , the risk to our energy supply and the risk that we might achieve our goals are zero.
“Patrick Harvie has mistakenly branded Scotland’s oil industry advocates ‘hard right’, which is offending tens of thousands of workers in our North Sea sector. Nicola Sturgeon must quickly disassociate her government from these comments. Her opposition to future oil and gas projects seems to have discouraged investment. It doesn’t help if she lets government ministers take fake pictures of everyone who works in the oil and gas sector.”
A recent YouGov poll found that 38% of voters in north-east Scotland support drilling off the west coast of Shetland, while 27% are against. The rest is uncertain.
