The Scottish Liberal Democrats had urged the administration to host a session in the Scottish Parliament on the future of the offshore industry, amid spiralling job losses in the sector.
But their request was rebuffed, leading party MSP Liam McArthur to suggest the SNP believe “the oil and gas sector are not worthy of proper debate”.
The last time the Scottish Parliament debated the oil and gas sector was on March 10 last year, while there was also a ministerial statement on the future prosperity for the North Sea in September.
The call came after the Press and Journal revealed that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon failed to meet the head of the Energy Jobs Taskforce – Dr Lena Wilson – for more than six months last year.
Mr McArthur, who represents Orkney at Holyrood, said: “Given the importance of the oil and gas sector to Scotland’s economy, and the seriousness of challenges currently facing that sector, it beggars belief that SNP ministers are unwilling to schedule time for parliament to debate these issues.
“The Scottish Government dominates the parliamentary timetable, yet ministers appear to believe the needs of the oil and gas sector are not worthy of proper debate.
“Tens of thousands of jobs in the sector have been lost in the last 12 months, and contractors say that more workers are in the firing line.
“We need to see the UK and Scottish Governments working in collaboration with the Oil and Gas Authority to find solutions to the problems faced by this vital sector.
“At the moment, however, Scottish Ministers seem to want to shirk their responsibility and duck the debate.”
But last night a Scottish Government spokesman insisted they were using “all of the levers under its control” to support the oil and gas industry.
He said: “There is an extensive network of support delivered through Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Development International, Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council.
“We have seen Scottish Enterprise oil and gas innovation support doubled in the last year to almost £3million. The Scottish Government is also supporting innovation and established the Oil and Gas Innovation Centre in 2014 with funding of £10million.”
