We can’t stand by and let oil and gas skills go to waste, says north MP
Jamie Stone has described North Sea oil and gas workers as “immensely valuable” to the economy and insisted their skills must not be allowed to go to waste.
The Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross spoke in a parliamentary debate on transitional support for those employed in the sector, and stressed the importance of retaining a skilled workforce in the Highlands.
The North Sea oil and gas industry supports around 90,000 jobs in Scotland and Mr Stone referred to concerns over the potential impact on these from the net-zero transition.
The UK government previously outlined a commitment not to issue new oil and gas exploration licences, and to use the higher taxes taken from the North Sea to contribute towards the green energy sector.
Mr Stone said the announcement of the closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery, with the loss of 400 jobs, had heightened these worries.
He said: “When parliament was recalled two weeks ago, I made it my priority to return to London to vote in favour of supporting the UK’s steel industry.
“This is because British steel is vital to the construction of oil platforms, nuclear reactors and floating offshore wind structures. To put it simply, the protection of this industry is vital for retaining a skilled workforce, which I have repeatedly made my priority.
“Similarly, adequate transitional support for North Sea oil and gas workers is also in the interests of retaining a skilled workforce. These people have been – and still are – immensely valuable to the economy of Scotland and the whole of the UK. We cannot stand by and let their skills go to waste.
“This is particularly pertinent in the Highlands, where the threat of depopulation is ever present. We must not take them for granted.
“A skilled workforce is everything. It is the key to our safety and self-sufficiency in an ever-threatening global order.”
