Referendum 18th September 2014

[gerry4]

My one issue with the oil and gas debate is currently the SNP are bigging up renewables in favour of oil and gas so I'm wondering if somewhere high up in boardrooms companies are worried about the possibility of punative tax schemes to fund more renewables at the expense of the oil and gas industry and divesting themselves of assets in areas which many become problematic.

Maybe the scottish government is doing it because oil & gas is running out and wind, hydro & sea are not. Why would the government set punitive taxes on oil and force the oil companies to shut down the rigs?

[RagnarRocks]

As I said its a possibility green taxes are pretty in vogue and I'm not sitting in the boardrooms when the decisions are being made but it seems odd that a company would sell off profitable assets when it doesn't need to

[Oddquine]

As I said its a possibility green taxes are pretty in vogue and I'm not sitting in the boardrooms when the decisions are being made but it seems odd that a company would sell off profitable assets when it doesn't need to

Which part of depleted wells do you have difficulty understanding? and are the other companies involved in them also selling up?

[RagnarRocks]

So what you're saying is with the country about to go and vote on Independence and the SNP claiming that oil and gas revenues are to be part of the backbone of a newly independent Scotland, the companies that run the wells are selling up because they are nearly depleted. Hmmm why do I see a bit of a problem there ! Excuse me for seeming somewhat cynical .

[Mrs Bradey]

So what you're saying is with the country about to go and vote on Independence and the SNP claiming that oil and gas revenues are to be part of the backbone of a newly independent Scotland, the companies that run the wells are selling up because they are nearly depleted. Hmmm why do I see a bit of a problem there ! Excuse me for seeming somewhat cynical .

Hmmm indeed!

[squidge]

Rags - you know when you use a tube of toothpaste - you finish it and throw it away and then you invest in a NEW one. BP, Shell are both investing in the north sea. And once again....... The oil is not all there is.

[Oddquine]

So what you're saying is with the country about to go and vote on Independence and the SNP claiming that oil and gas revenues are to be part of the backbone of a newly independent Scotland, the companies that run the wells are selling up because they are nearly depleted. Hmmm why do I see a bit of a problem there ! Excuse me for seeming somewhat cynical .

I said depleted, the article did not. I said depleted to see if anyone would read the article......or if they'd just go with something that fitted their agenda without checking. Maturing doesn't mean depleted.....it means past its peak oil stage and declining in production.

Reason for selling.......The move to sell the assets comes after Shell announced a profit warning in mid-January followed by its final results for 2013 in which it said it would be making "hard choices" about new projects and reducing capital spending. The firm said it planned to budget $37 billion for capex in 2014 compared to the $46 billion in spent in 2013, along with plans to accelerate asset sales.
Shell said.....We are focusing and strengthening our portfolio for the decades ahead with many exciting projects such as new wells we are drilling at Shearwater, our investment in extending the life of Gannet, our investments in the non-operated ventures of Schiehallion and Clairnand our purchases, last year, of a further interest in Beryl and the Curlew floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.

According to Oil & Gas UK....There are substantial volumes of oil and gas yet to recover from the UKCS".