First Minister Nicola Sturgeon today insisted the oil and gas industry has a strong future after providing an update on measures to support the sector.
The first 600 people have had applications approved for the £12million Transition Training Fund, which was launched in February, Ms Sturgeon said after officially opening Statoil’s new headquarters in Aberdeen.
Furthermore, about 70 innovation projects with a total project value of £16million have benefited from £7million of Scottish Government funding for research and development.
And a further £1.1million has been invested to support business resilience in the oil and gas industry.
The First Minister said: “The expertise that Scottish oil and gas firms have built up over many decades has positioned our energy sector as a world leader and while we realise that the industry and workforce is going through a difficult time, this investment and expansion from Statoil is a vote of confidence in the North Sea’s future.
“Last week’s Oil and Gas Production statistics demonstrate that the industry is adapting to the current period of low prices, but what the industry must be ready to do is to capitalise when the upturn comes.
“We are doing everything we can to support the sector. Only half way through the first year of our three-year Transition Training Fund, launched in February, already 600 people have had their applications for support approved, and separately, we’ve committed £1.1 million to projects to boost business resilience.
“In conjunction with the efforts of the Energy Jobs Taskforce, our Enterprise Agencies have now engaged with more than 700 companies in the oil and gas sector, and will continue to identify where help is most needed and lay foundations for the future of our energy sector.”
“Statoil is demonstrating its willingness to diversify through the Hywind and Batwind renewable energy projects, again using the world leading expertise and skills of Scotland’s workforce. We are committed to working with firms like Statoil to support Scotland’s mixed energy sector and prepare it for a positive future.”
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