Talking-up Scotland

(c) businessforscotland.com

In Oil and Gas People on January 15, 2 018, Takayuki Nogami, a chief economist of the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation, predicted growing demand and the possibility of prices rising to $100 per barrel. This followed, the July 2017 comments from the Aramco chief describing the outlook for oil supplies as ‘increasingly worrying’, arguing that the transition to alternative fuels will be ‘long and complex’ and that this will result in huge shortages. Discoveries are down 50% in the last four years. See:

Second prediction that Scottish oil may rise beyond $70 per barrel to as much as $100 per barrel and that demand will grow over the next ten years.

Yesterday, London-based consultancy, Energy Aspect,s predicted, in Energy Voice, that Brent prices will rise above £100 next year:

‘A slump in new production outside the U.S. shale patch in 2019 could help to send Brent crude briefly back above $100 a barrel next year, according to London-based consultancy Energy Aspects.’

https://www.energyvoice.com/opinion/161520/oils-rout-hail-return-100-crude-maybe/

This is an even more dramatic prediction in terms of the timescale foreseen. In addition, their apparent confidence in shale may be misplaced making the prediction even more accurate. See:

The Scottish Third Wave of Oil Productivity is built on solid foundations but those of the Shale Oil Industry are built on sand and on sand that is disappearing fast

Finally, further reinforcing the predictions of $100pb oil, we’ve already seen that those presumably well-informed hedge fund managers are piling in to invest heavily in oil production:

Scotland’s oil prices look optimistic as hedge funds invest and shale drilling boom passes peak

Luckily for Scotland, there have been massive finds west of Shetland in the last few months. See:

Estimates of Scotland’s oil reserves West of Shetland now massively increased to around 8 billion barrels! ‘A super-resource now on the cards.’

The signs of a ‘Third Wave of Prosperity’ from Scotland’s oil keep coming now. Make sure everyone knows in time for Indyref2.