£7 billion benefit to Scottish economy
19 Jun 2014 04:17 PM
North East of Scotland could become the
all-energy hub for Europe.
Finance Secretary John Swinney will set out the Scottish
Government’s vision to build on the success of the North East in an
independent Scotland at a debate in Aberdeen tonight.
John Swinney will highlight the huge potential of the
North East, in energy, manufacturing, food and drink, tourism and services and
set out how they can be harnessed with the full powers of
independence.
Mr
Swinney will also say that independence brings together all the necessary tools
to capture Scotland’s energy opportunity by combining a stable fiscal
regime, with a skills and training policy for Scotland, incentives for
manufacturing and an effective regulator.
The
Finance Secretary will also welcome a new study revealing the North East of
Scotland could become the Carbon Capture and Storage hub for
Europe.
The
key findings of the Element Energy report conclude that Scotland’s
existing infrastructure, skills base, potential storage and enhanced oil
recovery sites in the Central North Sea, make it a compelling location to be a
Carbon Capture and Storage hub for Europe with billions of pounds of benefits
to the Scottish and North East economy.
The
Element Energy report provides analysis of the opportunities to deliver CCS at
least cost, least risk, and with maximum flexibility. It shows that the
combination of Carbon Capture and Storage with Enhanced Oil Recovery in the
Central North Sea provides an excellent platform to achieve multiple
benefits.
Key
findings include:
• Investment would boost the Scottish economy - the
potential gross value added to the Scottish economy alone would be up to ca.
£7 billion over the period to 2050, excluding tax
receipts.
• Under aggressive CCS deployment work would lead
to the creation of 44,000 cumulative person-years of employment in Scotland in
the period to 2050.
• CCS can support the decarbonisation of the
economy in Scotland, the UK and North West Europe, with potential for storing
up to 1,700 million tonnes of CO2 over the period to 2050, helping us to meet
the challenge of climate change.
• As this can be accompanied by the economic
production of at least 1.4 billion additional barrels of oil, extending the
life of the oil industry in the UK, Norway and Denmark, and bringing in
£10 billion in discounted revenue, and associated benefits in balance of
trade, jobs, and energy security.
Speaking ahead of a referendum debate in Aberdeen,
Finance Secretary John Swinney said:
“The economy in Aberdeen and the North East is one
of Scotland’s success stories. The track record of the Scottish
Government where we have some devolved control over our economy –
including major investment in Aberdeen - demonstrates what can be done if we
exercise control here in Scotland.
“Independence will allow us to bring wealth and
job creating powers together with our current powers on skills, education and
services in the best interests of the people of Scotland and of the North East.
By putting those tools into the hands of people whose number one priority is
Scotland’s economy Aberdeen will cement its position as Europe’s
energy hub.
“The Scottish Government have been robust
advocates of CCS for over a decade now, recognising the strong comparative
advantages that Scotland has in academic expertise, industrial know-how and the
unrivalled storage capacity in the North Sea and Scotland is are already
contributing financially to the UK CCS Competition through the taxes we pay to
the Treasury.
“Today’s report from Element Energy shows
that CCS is a £7 billion opportunity for Scotland’s economy to
2050, including the economy of the North East.
“Scotland is perfectly placed to play a leading
role in the development of CCS and capture a major share of the global
market.
“Innovation, including the contribution of EOR/CCS
can and should play a major part in securing the long term future and success
of the oil and gas industry. Sadly, the UK Government have failed to grasp the
scale of prize of using CCS to extract additional oil
reserves.
“Only independence provides Scotland with the
autonomy to make the necessary strategic investments that will support the
growth of CCS.”
Notes To
Editors
The
Element Energy report is available to view at: http://www.element-energy.co.uk/2014/06/carbon-capture-and-stora
ge-hub-study-published/