Aberdeen tycoon says North Sea oil reserves worth extra £787 billion
Calls for tax incentives
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AN ABERDEEN oil tycoon has forecast the UK’s North Sea oil and gas reserves could be worth an extra £787 billion.
Wood Group chairman Sir Ian Wood said the right tax incentives from the UK Government would allow the offshore industry to extract a further 25 billion barrels of oil and gas in the years ahead.
Sir Ian Wood said this was more than twice the 12 billion barrels of oil and gas that may be produced without additional government incentives to extract marginal reserves.
Wood Group chairman Sir Ian Wood was speaking at Aberdeen’s Offshore Europe event attended by First Minister Alex Salmond.
The Banff and Buchan MP and Gordon MSP agreed the Exchequer should take into account the rewards that would come with greater tax relief for oil companies drilling for marginal reserves.
Alex Salmond said: “To be successful in an argument about tax incentives you have got to look at what the potential revenues are going to be.
“You have to look not just at the size of the market but what the effect on the Treasury is going to be.
“Any argument has to say an investment is going to result in this much revenue and the Treasury will then take something from that.”
Around 10,000 people descended on Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre for the opening day of Offshore Europe.
Two people were arrested after climate change protesters held a demonstration at the AECC in Aberdeen during Offshore Europe.
It is understood the climate change protesters had refused to move outside the AECC site in Aberdeen.
