A cross-party group of MSPs has said the situation in the offshore industry is “very challenging” amid fears of further widespread redundancies in the north-east.
The Scottish Parliament’s Energy Committee agreed yesterday to press the Scottish Government on “whether more work requires to be done” to assess the impact of the crisis on the wider economy.
The committee, which contains SNP, Conservative, Labour and Green members, said offshore workers face a “very difficult” future but that they were confident “a sustainable industry can emerge from this downturn”.
The “future prospects for oil and gas in Scotland” report comes just days after the Federation of Small Businesses warned that the downturn in the oil industry had hit firms’ confidence.
Committee member Lewis Macdonald said the committee had agreed “very important” recommendations about offshore safety and decommissioning.
He added: “This report comes out at a significant time, as the oil jobs crisis deepens and the impact on the wider Scottish economy becomes clear for all to see.
“As a member of the Committee, I was pleased that most of my fellow members were able to agree on some of the most important conclusions.
“This report makes a real contribution to the debate on the oil jobs crisis today, but much more will need to be done in the next few weeks as the situation continues to develop.”
However, fellow committee member and Green Party leader Patrick Harvie branded the report “reckless” and claimed that other parties had “their heads in the sand”.
He said: “Workers in the north-east and the wider Scottish economy are suffering, and what’s needed is a credible and responsible plan of action for sustainable employment.
“With low oil prices and far greater reserves of fossil fuel than can ever be used, the idea that business as usual will resume is simply delusional.
“This reckless report shows that the other parties in parliament have their heads in the sand.
“It is abundantly clear that we need to start building up other sectors and manage our economy away from fossil fuel extraction.
“Trades unions representing workers recognise this, and are concerned that we are already at risk of losing out on new jobs to other countries.”
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