Tom Greatrex MP, Labour’s Shadow Energy Minister, commenting on Oil and Gas UK’s Activity Survey 2015, said:

“This year’s activity report highlights just how serious the situation is for the oil industry in the North Sea. It is vital to the Scottish economy and nobody can now doubt it needs support. These findings underline the need for urgent action to ensure the fiscal framework is appropriate for North Sea oil and investment – postponing action until the budget is a needless and damaging delay. If the Tories do not act on the tax regime for the North Sea, in this budget, Labour will.

“It is also vital that the crucial reforms recommended in Sir Ian Wood’s review of economic recovery in the North Sea, which were pressing even before the oil price crisis, are taken forward as a matter of urgency. The industry need themselves to also step up to the plate, and work much more collaboratively if the UKCS is to have a sustainable future.”