It's time to bring Scottish Oil home & invest in Scotland’s future
It is an asset worth £234,000 for every man, woman and child in Scotland.
With oil prices likely to remain at premium levels and the UK government forecasting record high
revenues from the North Sea, Scotland has the prospect of a second oil windfall.
We know from the UK government’s own figures that there could be as much as 38.7 billion barrels of oil
left (calculation 38,700,000,000 barrels x £20.67 tax per barrel = £800 Billion in today's money this could reach £1.2 Trillion in 30 years time.) With just 35 billion barrels recovered to date we are still at the half way point for this
important Scottish industry. What is more, given the premium placed on energy resources, there may
be two-thirds of the revenues still remaining in the North Sea, with an additional £800 billion pounds
to come from Scottish waters in today's money.
The choice for Scotland is clear – those revenues either flows south to London or they can be invested
in Scotland for the people of Scotland.
Any modern economic policy requires a pragmatic energy strategy – something that is lacking in
Scotland today. This paper sets one important step we must now take to ensure the benefits of the
next thirty years of North Sea oil and gas are felt here in Scotland and contribute fully to a growing,
more competitive Scottish economy. Described in the Conservative Commissioned Classified Mc Crones Report.
Oil Revenue from discovered oil that is left
Calculation £1200,000,000,000 (1.2 trillion) divided by Scotland's current population of 5,117,000 = £234,512 per each or average annual loss over 30 years = £7817 each per year. Westminster currently spends £8,623 per head on public services in Scotland. These figures are for oil and gas revenue only they do not include council tax, income tax, VAT, Corporation tax or the substantial revenues Scotland's makes from Tobacco, Alcohol, Whisky Production, Tourism or Renewable Energy etc. read more about the current 4.4 Billion surplus
Current Oil Revenue per annum
Calculation £1,000,000,000 (1 billion) per month divided by Scotland's current population of 5,117,000 = £195 each per day an average annual loss over £2345 each per year. See the 2006 "official" figures ?
Oil Revenue that has already been used
Calculation £250,000,000,000 (250 billion) divided by Scotland's current population of 5,117,000 = £48,856 per each or average annual loss over 30 years = £1628 each per year.
If we make right choices, and follow the successful example set by Norway, even investing just a part of
our oil wealth Scotland could have an Oil Fund worth almost £90 billion in just 10 years. That is £20,000
banked for every man, woman and child in our country.
Oil and gas - along with a set of pro-Scottish business policies – have the potential to transform
Scottish prospects over the next 30 years. They are far too important to be left to London.
It is time to move on so Scotland’s precious natural resources can help fuel our nation’s future
prosperity. This would also be better for the world, as a Scottish Government would not have the same need to extract oil at the same alarming rate that Westminster is. Current oil production has never been higher.
The Facts and Figure behind Scottish Oil
An asset for Scotland’s future
North Sea oil and gas represents a huge asset for Scotland. Taking UK government estimates for oil
price and potential reserves, the total current value of North Sea oil is £1.2 trillion.
This is equivalent to total government spending in Scotland for 22 years.
It is an asset worth £234,000 for every man, woman and child in our country.
What Scotland has lost?
If Scotland had invested our share of North Sea Oil revenues between 1997 and 2004 in an Oil Fund, and
if we assume a similar rate of return to Norway, then Scotland:
• We would have made a real rate return of £1.23 billion per year or £9.87 billion in total.
• We would have made a nominal rate (including inflation) of return of £1.72 billion per year or £13.78 billion in total.
WE MUST ACT NOW
Record Oil Revenues are costing every person in Scotland £2345 each a year
In his most recent financial report18 Gordon Brown forecast twenty-year record high oil revenues for
next year and according to the Chancellor, over the six years up to 2010-11 we will see £74 billion in oil
and gas revenues – equivalent to £14,000 for each person in Scotland. This past year revenues are
forecast to be £9.7 billion, while in the coming year they will reach at least £10.2 billion (but as much as £12 billion on current world oil prices), beaten only by the revenues received in 1984-86 – as shown
above:
GGBR in Scotland
Do the Scots and their oil subsidies the English?
The Great Deception of the Scottish People .
Read this in depth report that examines the lies that are fabricated by Westminster on the UK / Scottish Economy. (the diagram of statistics is at bottom of page) The Great Deception - GERS 2005
At present, all revenues raised from getting North Sea oil and gas ashore, and what added in Fuel Duty to Scottish Motorists is about £1bn a month. This currently goes directly to the UK Treasury. Read more
