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    1. Regional Reports

    Oil & Gas UK comments on Scottish referendum result

    Sept. 20, 2014
    In light of the “No” vote in the Scottish referendum, Oil & Gas UK says that it looks forward to continuing working closely with both the UK and Scottish governments toward the shared ambition of maximizing economic recovery of the UK’s offshore oil and gas resource.

    Offshore staff

    LONDON – In light of the “No” vote in the Scottish referendum, Oil & Gas UK says that it looks forward to continuing working closely with both the UK and Scottish governments toward the shared ambition of maximizing economic recovery of the UK’s offshore oil and gas resource.

    Oil & Gas UK says that this vote does not, and will not, diminish the pivotal role played by the Scottish government in supporting the offshore oil and gas industry, and Oil & Gas UK looks for this to continue. 

    Oil & Gas UK Chief Executive Malcolm Webb comments, “The referendum campaign rightly revealed the important role the offshore oil and gas industry plays in our economy, both in Scotland and in the rest of the United Kingdom. This is understandable, given that this industry remains the UK’s largest corporate taxpayer and largest industrial investor, and its crucial role in helping assure thousands of well-paid highly skilled jobs as well as our energy security. 

    “To safeguard the industry’s future, it is particularly important that the government now presses swiftly ahead with fiscal reform, as well as the implementation of Sir Ian Wood’s recommendations, to maximize the economic recovery of our oil and gas resource. The industry must not delay either in a cross-sector effort to bring its escalating costs under control.

    “There has been a great deal of discussion about how much oil and gas resource remains to be produced from the UK continental shelf [UKCS]. Oil & Gas UK’s position remains that there could be between 12–24 billion barrels of oil and gas still to recover, but that the above three pivotal challenges need to be resolved if we are to stand any chance of reaching the top half of this range.

    “We will continue to work with both UK and Scottish governments on our mutual goals. This is not just to maximize the economic recovery of the substantial remaining potential of the UKCS oil and gas resource but also to strengthen its supply chain across Scotland and in all other parts of the United Kingdom.”

    Oil & Gas UK is a representative organization for the UK offshore oil and gas industry. Its membership, comprising oil and gas producers and contractor companies, now numbers more than 480 organizations.

    09/19/2014