Election / Nugent speaks out for continued oil production, while Macdonald warns of job losses should Clair extension not go ahead
SOVEREIGNTY candidate Brian Nugent has made the case for continued fossil fuel exploration in the North Sea, saying there will be a need for oil and gas for at least another 50 years.
Meanwhile Lib Dem candidate Emma Macdonald warned of the potential impact if oil giant BP does not go ahead with the planned extension of its Clair oil field.
“Around 250 jobs could be at risk over the next 10 years across the Shetland economy,” she said.
They were both responding to a briefing by the University of Strathclyde’s Centre for Energy Policy (CEP) that suggests as many as 400 jobs could be lost at Sullom Voe Terminal unless hundreds of millions of pounds are invested in low-carbon fuel production.
Nugent said Britain’s contribution to global carbon emissions was less than one percent and closing down the North Sea as an oil and gas producing province was not the answer.
Sullom Voe and the supply chain were important employers in Shetland and that should be the focus of all political parties, he said.
Nugent’s views are in contrast to those of Green candidate Alex Armitage who suggested the government should invest £300 million in a Sullom Voe transition fund.
“The University of Strathclyde’s Centre for Energy Policy (CEP) report does raise issues that need to be considered, but before that there is a stark economic and political choice to be made about the North Sea,” Nugent said.
Society was at a tipping point from moving from one technology to a new, relatively, untested technology, he said, and government seems to be putting all its eggs in one basket.
“CEP is recommending carbon capture and green energy as suggested by Veri, a subsidiary of EnQuest, based on raising huge amounts of money from investors, in a difficult economic climate, as replacement for working with oil.
“Look to Norway. They are opening up new oil fields and are increasing oil production. Presumably, they are concerned about the environment as well, but they are answering a supply and demand issue.
“There is an ongoing need for oil, probably for the next 50 years, and the thousands of everyday products that are produced. Meanwhile, the North Sea is being mothballed.”
Macdonald meanwhile said that living in Voe and being a councillor for Shetland North she “absolutely knows how important these jobs are for the area as well as the wider Shetland economy”.
She added: “These are real jobs that impact real people in our communities, and we need to not lose sight of that.
“Shetland’s economy, like many island and rural economies, is fragile and the loss of this level of jobs would be devastating for our community.
“It’s important that the Scottish Government does all it can to act in the best interests of Shetland workers. “As the next MSP for Shetland I will always stand up for what’s best for local people and our islands.”
All candidates standing in the Scottish parliamentary election on 7 May were contacted for comment.
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