Research and development programme will create 17 new jobs in Livingston
THE SCOTTISH oil and gas industry received a boost this week after the Scottish Government revealed a £5.1m funding plan for a research and development (R&D) programme.
Scottish Enterprise is giving £2.2m to Scaled Solutions, with the Livingston-based company investing a further £2.9m.
The initiative will see Scaled Solutions develop technology in corrosion and scaling mechanisms, creating 17 new jobs in R&D techniques.
“This is the largest R&D project we’ve undertaken to date and we believe it will transform our current capabilities and services, creating solutions not available anywhere else in the world.” Dr Robert M. Graham
Dr Gordon M. Graham, managing director of Scaled Solutions Ltd, said: “This is the largest R&D project we’ve undertaken to date and we believe it will transform our current capabilities and services, creating solutions not available anywhere else in the world.”
The announcement came just as Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie attacked the SNP’s revenue projection for oil in the White Paper in 2014, following the publishing of GERS figures this week.
In response to the GERS figures, Rennie said: “Oil revenues have tanked since 2014.
“The Scottish Government must commit to provide a formal written explanation to show why its taxpayer-funded independence White Paper was so hopelessly wrong on oil revenues.
“Tens of thousands of people were given copies of the White Paper. The Scottish Government owes each of them an explanation for the gross error in the forecast.
“The SNP relied on the 2014 numbers for their independence campaign. People need to know why they got it so wrong to make sure the same mistakes can’t happen again.”
“The Scottish Government’s previous projections for oil prices were firmly in line with many independent international forecasts made prior to the downturn and significantly below prices forecast by the former UK Energy Department, DECC.” Scottish Government
A Scottish Government spokesman told CommonSpace that the fall in oil prices had affected every oil-producing country, and called for the UK Government to do more for the industry.
It said: “The Scottish Government’s previous projections for oil prices were firmly in line with many independent international forecasts made prior to the downturn and significantly below prices forecast by the former UK Energy Department, DECC.
“The North Sea oil and gas sector continues to make a very important contribution to our economy and supports more than 124,000 jobs in Scotland today in generating significant added value in the economy.
In relation to the R&D initiative, the spokesman said: “While the Scottish Government supports innovation and skills within the sector and our enterprise agencies work closely with key employers, it is the UK Government which retains key policy responsibilities for regulation and fiscal arrangements for the industry and which must use those powers to support our own efforts to protect jobs and investment.
Picture courtesy of Berardo62
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