The Government's latest attempt at a strategy for oil and gas was published in March but its impact was somewhat diluted by the announcement on the same day of yet another change of energy minister.
First Minister Alex Salmond delivered a message of optimism for the North Sea yesterday, calling the oil and gas sector "a sunrise industry".
Production has started from Scotland’s first oil development from land. Energy firm Trap Oil said oil from the Lybster project in Caithness started flowing on Wednesday and the first output was due to be delivered by lorry to a refinery in England yesterday.
The UK North Sea oil and gas industry has the potential to continue for several decades and its supply chain for even longer, according to a new report.
Scottish oil exploration company Cairn Energy has struck oil near Greenland, becoming the first company to make a find in the area.
BP temporarily halted its attempt to plug the Gulf of Mexico oil leak last night, saying it wanted to monitor the effects of the "top kill" attempt.
Exploration and drilling activity on the UK Continental Shelf was generally dismal in 2009, but there was one bright spot - West of Shetland, where eight wells were drilled.
Offshore oil operators were accused last night of deliberately delaying maintenance operations to produce as much oil as possible to exploit sky-high world prices.