The question is aberdeenhornet why are you so keen to propogate Westminster lies? You have not had time to read this report and yet you attempt to rubbish it. If you are in the Oil industry what is your angle? You are certainly not interested in Scotland's future are you?
The report you have there is selective extracts and not taken in the full context of the reports it references of which I am familiar and used in the past. I work day in day out in the business and have my finger right on the pulse of where we are going. I do not have my head in any Westminster sand, I fear for the offshore industry here whether we're part of UK or independent the future isn't looking that rosy beyond the next 10 years. We're at a critical point where if something isn't done to find more production we will be decommissioning some of the critical infrastructure after blowing down fields which is an irreversible end of life event. That report is not compiled by a credible source, go direct to Sir Alex Kemp, Sir Ian Wood, or DECC or have conversations with the guys at the BGS, in the EI, SPE etc.. Unfortunately we are competing for investment in an international industry with frankly easier and more economically attractive targets. Playing in our favor is the instability in the middle east and Russia but as it stands we will overcome the green lobby and start fraccing for the much more significant and cheaper shale oil and gas in England. If the economies are separated it will be a competition as it stands the government has a responsibility to maintain the developed Oil industry up here and the current BP and Total investments will be protected. You really should look at Ian Woods record, CV. and not make such a daft statement reference his credibility.
Sir Ian Woods is part of the esablishemnt that's why they have trotted him out. Back up your statements give me some examples of where the report I have posted is wrong> Facts not opinions please.
Oh but I have read it and many of the references beside. I live and work in Aberdeen in the oil industry, I have three children two of which were born here and are fiercely proud to be Scottish so yes I have a very significant interest in Scotlands future. See my previous post for my "angle". I have chosen to live here as I love Scotland and the countryside along with the lack of bullets flying past my head which is novel for the oil industry. I'm interested in whats best for the nation as a whole (UK) which I happen to believe is also whats best for the country of Scotland. Currently we have it very good with good welfare controlled from Edinburgh along with the stability afforded from being United with England Wales Northern Ireland. I believe this is the best model for Scotland and would allow my children a happy and prosperous future. I have about 15 years of career time left and would prefer to stay here for at least half of that but will be displaced to another country if we get Independence and the starving of investment that will follow (my perspective from inside the industry and I'm not remote or divorced from the decision makers). Salmond and this SNP crusade is not based upon sound economics but a "Braveheart" desire to have an independent Scotland, its playing to his and similar persons egos. Comparisons with Norway are farsical, they have a very different culture and quality of life that leads to the highest suicide rate in the developed world, not something I can aspire to, their oil reserves are very distinct to our own in terms of scale and complexity.
I've not said its wrong in terms of content. We do have a lot of oil left, we do have big fields to find. Complexity = cost, each well costs about US$50 million and we need to drill a ton of them to find anything especially now the easy finds have been made and developed. Whats wrong with the report is that even though there is oil it doesn't mean we can extract it. Just read the Wood review along with go and do a masters in Petroleum Engineering and you might gain an understanding of the complexity of the industry, then go and speak with Alex Kemp to understand what we have to do in order to get companies to actually spend their money to allow us to get any oil out of the ground. We've had far better prospective times in the past few decades for investment here and if you believe that an independent Scotland provides the environment for investment I believe you're deluded but I do hope I'm wrong!!!
So no facts just opinions! Do you think that saying something is sufficient for it to be taken as read? You talk about Salmond and the SNP who have provided infinite numbers of facts taken from Westminster government departments. I have backed all of my ascertains on here with evidence and you NONE. Braveheart dreams this situation is precislely opposite with only rhetoric from you. I ask you again if you have read the report William Cameron McLaughlin BA(Hons), MBA then where exactly is he wrong?
If you think a BA or MBA holds any weight think again, no facts from Salmond or SNP stand up, your evidence is not present its a pathetic attempt at a report and I'm not disputing we have oil both found and undiscovered that WILL NOT be produced, you need to go away and study a bit about what the numbers and comments really mean. I've referred you to the wood review go and read it its full of facts. I have PDF files I can send you but not upload here with facts, graphics statitistics and dialog. At the end of the day its facts that determine how and where we invest and thats what I base my opinions on.
Right so you accept the content now, but we can't get it out is your new default position. All over facebook are links to a BP video explaing just how they are going to get this oil out. Once again Westminster has tried to suppress this info but BP have not complied with their request. You have still failed to produce any evidence for your position whatsoever apart from your 'feelings' beliefs and instincts. Anyone reading this thread can see quite clearly how the land lies.
Indeed they can if they can read with an objective viewpoint with basic understanding of politics, economics and the nature of the oil industry. I'll make it simple for you. Read this link. http://www.woodreview.co.uk/documents/UKCS Maximising Recovery Review FINAL 72pp locked.pdf
Strange position to take that learning carries no weight! So you have all the facts but we can't see them. Great I see you are going on about Salmond and the SNP again. This post does not come from the SNP I am not a member of the SNP this is about Scotland and its oil. You have a political position, fair enough but trying to couch that opinion as authoritative without producing a shred of evidence will not stand up. As it has not.
Aghh facebook, that well known technical Bible that has the answers to economic recovery of oil, why do we all spend vast resources on trying to find new ways when all we needed to do was look at facebook. There are ways to recover SOME oil and more than we used to, these depend on low tax take (tax writeoffs) from government, can't you see thats what I object too? Under independence Salmond is promising this pipedream of a sovereign wealth fund, additional welfare spending, increased oil production and reserves replacement, windfarms everywhere, you name it anything that would be popular he's promising it, it doesn't add up and I believe him when he talks about the welfare stuff therefore what will have to give is the taxation situation which means less attractive arena for the oil industry with lower incentives and higher taxes. Whats proposed is not possible. I lived through Venezuela turning from free market to populist and its the same model except the oil over there is a heck of a lot easier to extract and there's much more of it but the populist policies result in ruin as they will here. I'll be in the states referendum day and have my application for political asylum ready!!!!
A masters in petroleum engineering or geology would hold some weight or any experience in the economics of the oil industry. A BA doesn't do it for me, I may be wrong and if you can point to the honorable gentlemens experience in petroleum exploration or oil industry finance I stand corrected.
And I'll repeat again I do not dispute we have oil but in your own report the development investment requirement is 1416 billion US$. Record investment last year was 14 billion US$. We need equivalent of 100 years record investment to unlock these reserves and it would be needed within a 15 year period, it's just not possible! No company or nation has the financial ability to make this happen, frustrating but a fact of life. Better economics is wipe out the populations of Iraq, Iran and Syria and access the oil there..... not possible but more possible than developing the atlantic margin to the potential in the "report" at best we'll find another 2 or 3 large fields, one every 5 years or so which will arrest the production decline and stabilize at around a million barrels a day, not enough to support a nation.
He was/is a consultant to the oil industry and academic; his Masters is in business economics. What he has done is to gather all the information on oil in SCotland together. A degree in Petrol engineering or geology? we are not talking exploration or recovery here, for this paper business economics are more appropriate.
As far as oil exploration and exploitation in an independent Scotland is concerned, do you think we should play 4-3-3 or 4-5-2 tomorrow?
Facebook is merely a medium of communication and in this refererendum it will prove decisive. Yours is clearly a political position, entrenched and not open to anything that might explode your core beliefs. This referrendum is much bigger than that.
Hard really Vic - 433 may help our slick passing game and we could strike it rich but 452 might provide the platform to a more solid defensive performance and we may avoid spilling a goal or two. It is quite a crude analysis though.
