The bill to the Scotland taxpayer for decommissioning North Sea oil and gas fields could be twice as high as the the UK Treasury forecasts, warns energy intelligence firm Wood McKenzie , which suggests £24bn ($29bn) is more likely than the forecast £16bn. This could turn the industry into a major net expenditure rather than the dependable revenue generator it has been for UK Treasury since the 1970s . Prior to the oil price slump, Scotland's geographic share of North Sea oil revenues was worth £9.6 billion (US$12bn), more than the country's total annual spend of education, environmental protection and training. It could also upset the Scottish National Party's push for independence as North Sea oil was branded its main source of revenue for an independent Scotland in the the 1970s independence referendum proposal.
The bill to the Scotland taxpayer for decommissioning North Sea oil and gas fields could be twice as high as the the UK Treasury forecasts, warns energy intelligence firm Wood McKenzie , which suggests £24bn ($29bn) is more likely than the forecast £16bn. This could turn the industry into a major net expenditure rather than the dependable revenue generator it has been for UK Treasury since the 1970s . It could also upset the Scottish National Party's push for independence as North Sea oil was branded its main source of revenue for an independent Scotland in the the 1970s independence referendum proposal.