BP’s chief executive Bob Dudley has supported Sir Ian Wood’s call for realism in the Scottish Independence debate.
BP’s top boss went as far as saying Scotland was best “maintaining the existing capacity and integrity of the United Kingdom”.
The company leader said: “BP has been in the UK North Sea for 50 years and we hope to operate here for many years to come. However, the province is now mature and I believe Sir Ian Wood correctly assesses its future potential.
“The opportunities today are smaller and more challenging to develop than in the past. We also face the challenges of extending the productive life of existing assets and managing the future costs of decommissioning. Much of this activity requires fiscal support to be economic, and future long-term investments require fiscal stability and certainty.
“Our business invests for decades into the future. It is important our plans are based on a realistic view of the North Sea’s future potential and the challenges the industry faces in continuing to operate here.
“As a major investor in Scotland – now and into the future – BP believes that the future prospects for the North Sea are best served by maintaining the existing capacity and integrity of the United Kingdom.”
Shell’s chief executive Ben van Beurden, also lent his support to Sir Ian’s claims.
He added: “Shell believes that the Wood Review is a positive step for the North Sea oil and gas industry, and we strongly support its recommendations of developing a strategy to maximise the economic recovery of reserves remaining in the UK North Sea, and achieving greater collaboration between Government and industry.
“Sir Ian Wood is right in his technical assessment that the amount of remaining oil and gas that can be profitably extracted from the UK North Sea is a function of price and cost. As existing infrastructure gets older and output falls, costs will go up and tax receipts will come down. Furthermore, much of the UK North Sea’s remaining oil and gas – which is yet to be discovered and developed – is in isolated or hard-to-reach areas, which are potentially uneconomic without sharing of existing infrastructure and improved tax incentives.”
Sir Ian spoke out after the launch of a N-56 report, which claimed the North Sea had the 21 billion barrels of untapped shale resources.
He branded the report the “worst of many examples of false or exaggerated claims”.
However, Martyn Tulloch of Tulloch Energy, co-author of the N-56 report, was quick to counter Sir Ian.
He said: “The intervention of Sir Ian Wood is also particularly timely as today we have witnessed the intervention of Alex Russell, Professor of Petroleum Accounting, Aberdeen Business School at Robert Gordon University and Peter Strachan, Professor of Energy Policy, Aberdeen Business School at Robert Gordon University, both giving their backing to this report.
“Scotland’s public finances would be given colossal boost through access to these new oil and gas reserves. These finds are reminiscent of the early North Sea discoveries from over 40 years ago, such as the Brent Field, and would propel Scotland towards the top of the global league table in terms of oil and gas production.”
