Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

John Swinney: Scottish and UK governments must work together to maximise oil production

Deputy First Minister John Swinney
Deputy First Minister John Swinney

New research published by the Scottish Government has showed that the North Sea remains the largest oil producer in the EU.

The latest Oil and Gas Bulletin states that capital investment is likely to have peaked in 2014 after four successive years of record levels.

It also shows that production appears to be approaching a turning point, with the latest data indicating that production in April increased by almost 10% compared to the same month last year.

The bulletin shows that high levels of investment and the current oil price have resulted in revenues declining.

It revealed that the total value of the sector, which supports around 200,000 jobs, has a supply chain with international sales of more than £11billion.

Deputy First Minster John Swinney said: “There is no disputing that the industry has faced a very challenging year and we continue to work relentlessly to safeguard jobs and retain vital skills.

“These figures show that considerable opportunities to extend production remain in the UK continental shelf and that, properly supported, the industry can boost production over the next five years.

“Indeed, over the longer term, the full and swift implementation of the Wood Review’s recommendations could help to bring 3-4 billion barrel of oil equivalent of reserves into production over the next 20 years.”

Mr Swinney said good stewardship could not be over stated and stronger fiscal incentives to support exploration were needed.

“It is not acceptable for the UK Government to sit back and accept low revenues,” he added.

“Both governments and the industry must continue to work together to improve efficiency, production and deliver better results for the North Sea.”