Conservative MEP Ian Duncan was in Aberdeen yesterday to highlight the support his party had provided to the North Sea oil and gas industry.
He said a £1.3billion package unveiled by Chancellor George Osborne last month had given the sector – blighted by a global fall in the oil price – a welcome boost.
Petroleum revenue tax has been reduced from 50% to 35% and the supplementary tax has dropped from 30% to 20%.
Speaking at the Maritime Museum, Mr Duncan said: “The tax breaks and support which George Osborne delivered are exactly what the oil and gas industry need to safeguard jobs and investment.
“That is what you get when you vote Scottish Conservative – jobs and growth as part of a long-term economic plan.
“First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she would vote Green if she lived in England.
“The Green party would stop every pump, every drill today and not look back.
“We must not let the North Sea be held to ransom by the SNP.”
Finance Secretary John Swinney has claimed reforms to the oil and gas industry regulatory framework were proof that the sector had been “ill served” by the UK Government.
And two Aberdeen councillors have vowed to lobby for the introduction of exploration tax credits if they are elected to Westminster.
Callum McCaig, leader of the city council’s SNP group, and his colleague Kirsty Blackman said the issue would be a top priority for them if they are chosen to represent Aberdeen south and north constituencies respectively.
Mr Duncan said creating an “electricity free trade zone” in the North Sea was one of his top priorities in the European Parliament.
It involves energy being generated in the best geographical location and transmitted freely to where demand is greatest.
Mr Duncan said a Europe-wide market for energy “made sense” but there was difficulty delivering it to other European countries.
“Scotland has significant scope for renewable energy, but importantly it has huge resources of offshore and onshore gas to generate electricity,” he added.
“Without interconnectors, essentially large cables, both consumers and our energy producers are at a disadvantage.
“We end up relying on Russian gas and we all know the problems which come with that.”
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