An oil platform is situated in the North Sea. (Photo : Reuters)
Recent reports claim that North Sea oil revenues have plummeted in the first quarter of 2015. A recorded 75 percent quarter-on-quarter revenue downfall was reported by Scottish Conservatives.
According to BBC, a total of £168 ($264) million in tax receipts was reported by the Scottish government in the first three months of 2015. Scottish finance minister
John Swinney told the Aberdeen Business News that oil revenue should be considered as a bonus and not the sole basis of economy. The oil industry have seen a sharp decline in global price which started to stumble in June 2014.
Minister Swinney told Aberdeen Business News, "Our oil and gas bulletin, published in June, confirmed that Scotland remains, by some margin, the biggest oil producer in the entire European Union. Oil, however, is a bonus, not the basis of Scotland's economy."
Minister Swinney added that even without oil, Scotland's out per head will still rank third in all of the 12 countries and regions within the United Kingdom.
The significant drop in terms of oil prices has forced the Scottish government to downplay its own oil revenue forecast. In that past, the Scottish government predicted that it will amass oil revenue of as much as £38.7 ($61.02) billion from 2014 up to 2020. Due to the recent oil price decline, the Scottish government predicted that it will accumulate around £2.4 ($3.78) billion in oil revenue on the same period.
A recent report from the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change reveal that in May the North Sea has recorded its biggest oil produce since 2012. Many industry analysts claim that if this trend is sustained, oil production in the North Sea could see an increase for the first time in 15 years.
