Oil and Gas; A love and hate relationship, a necessity for human survival, alas however, by environmentalist groups
the Scottish energy sector which generates around 4.4% of Britain's GDP is seen as the also as Britain's biggest sole contributor of carbon dioxide. Friends of the Earth, a leading environmental group estimate that 1.7billion barrels of oil is needed to sustain our energy needs for the next three years which they estimate would approximately equal to around 493 Billion kilograms or to be precise- 493,515,358,164 Kg of CO2 released into the atmosphere. In real terms it is around equivalent to a single person travelling in a Boeing 747 London to New York 80,904,155 times.
Regardless being Britain's most polluted industry sector, it is also the most vital in terms of economic output, domestic and international demand. In 2012 it is estimated that over 440,000 people in UK are employed in the energy sector benefiting the Exchequer by £25,000 per head, by far than any other country in Europe ( excluding Norway) Earning Aberdeen its glorified name as ' Europe's Oil capital '. A Scottish glory or a rather prestigious title that is taken for granted? Indeed.
Although production has peaked last decade when the UK was the worlds 6th biggest oil producer, now falling to 19th, there is still undoubtedly no causes concern for Scottish dependence on oil and gas for decades to come, with companies of the like BP, Total, Shell sitting on the North Sea assets that have production profile forecasts to run beyond 2030.
According to latest research by University of Aberdeen, the North Sea has still around £1.5 trillion of oil and gas reserves to exploit. This claim is further backed my SNP. The Scottish government also estimates that the remaining value of the North Sea’s oil reserves is far higher than the value extracted to date. Although such claims are widely considered `as a PR tools for the Scottish National party, ahead of the Scottish referendum for independence. A Scottish Enterprise report anticipated that 86 new North Sea oil and gas fields will begin development by 2016, with investment of £44bn.
With the Chancellor recently announcing further significant tax incentives for energy companies, this is seen as a vital stepping stone to help increase the lost production of oil from the last decade.
Aberdeen’s future looks very prosperous and sustainable indeed however, Scotland’s oil boom is not without its limitations. Although praised for bringing vast employment opportunities to the Aberdeenshire, it is questionable whether enough is being invested to sustain the “new