It was rather predictable that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in London would again underplay the value of oil to the Scottish and UK economy considering the coming referendum on independence (“SNP accused of ‘madness’ to base separation case on oil”, The Herald, July 18). Its previous estimates on the value of a barrel of oil has been bizarrely low in comparison to others, including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The OBR was established by George Osborne in 2010, criticised by Alistair Darling for being partial, and is not a tried and trusted body by any stretch of the imagination. Companies exploring for oil and gas in the North Sea invested £11.4 billion in 2012 according to Oil and Gas UK, which comprises 320 companies active in the area. A figure they predicted would increase in 2013. Spokesman Malcolm Webb recently said: “The UK continental shelf is benefiting from record investment in new developments and existing assets and infrastructure, the strongest for more than three decades. Survey results lead us to forecast 130 exploration wells over the next three years which should result in many more barrels being discovered.” He fully expects oil to continue being extracted from the North Sea for at least the next 50 years. We are all aware, or should be, of The report commissioned by the UK Government in 1974 from Professor Gavin McCrone regarding the then future potential of North Sea oil and gas. McCrone concluded in his report that an independent Scotland’s balance of payments would have a “chronic surplus to quite an embarrassing degree”. His report was made secret by the UK Government and not revealed until 2004 under a Freedom of Information request. The former Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer Denis Healy more recently admitted that the UK Government had indeed been economic with the truth, saying in an interview: “The value of oil to the UK is a prime motivation behind Westminster opposition to independence now and in the 1970s. I think we did underplay the value of oil to the country.” Please share this with all your friends. People in Scotland needs to know the depths of treachery the UK government are capable of
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 17:14:31 +0000
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