The Scottish Government, led by the Scottish National Party (SNP), will soon change its historic position against new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. This announcement of a shift in energy policy indicates a significant change in the government's approach to energy investment.
Change in Energy Strategy
Two senior members of the Scottish Government, who have not been named due to the sensitivity of the issue, stated that the government intends to review its energy plans and move towards a pro-drilling stance for oil and gas. This change comes while tests related to compliance with the government's climate goals will still be in place. However, the Scottish Government will no longer start from an anti-new oil and gas drilling position.
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The Scottish Government published its draft energy strategy in 2023, which mentioned "opposition to" new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. A senior official from the Scottish Government stated that this draft is "outdated" and the new strategy, expected to be presented by summer, will not include this phrase.
Political and Economic Implications
This policy change comes as the UK Government is expected to soon grant permission for drilling in the Jackdaw gas field. Although the Scottish Government has limited power in granting new licenses for projects like Jackdaw and the Rosebank oil field, it holds a symbolic and influential role in pressuring the UK Government to approve the licenses.
At the recent Scottish National Party congress in Aberdeen, party politicians privately admitted that their position on Jackdaw has been detrimental to them in elections. The Scottish National Party passed a resolution at this congress stating that "using domestic production" of oil and gas is "better than imports." This resolution is seen as a further softening of the Scottish National Party's position.
This change in stance could have profound impacts on Scotland's energy and economic policies. Last summer, the Scottish National Party lost a parliamentary by-election in Aberdeen to the pro-drilling Conservative Party, where messages related to the North Sea were the main focus of the campaign. A senior official from the Scottish National Party remarked, "This was a tough experience, but we have been changing our position for some time now."
At this congress, the defeated candidate of the Scottish National Party in the by-election stated, "The Conservative Party hit us with the phrase 'opposition to.'" He added, "We must firmly reject any suggestion that our party or our government supports 'opposition to.'"
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