As oil prices rise to $80 per barrel and are trending toward $100 pb, we now see that exploration levels have risen to a level which means they cannot be used by our business correspondents to cast doubt on the full recovery of the industry and its potential to make this a very rich country, if we grab the reins at Indyref2. My next piece will be on the recovery of jobs in Aberdeen. However, first, see this from Energy Voice today:
‘OGA [Oil and Gas Authority] hopes the round will unlock 320 million barrels of oil in undeveloped oil and gas discoveries which were previously “stranded”. Around 3.6 billion barrels worth of exploration prospectivity will be progressed by the new licensees, who run the gamut from majors to new entrants. OGA chief executive Andy Samuel said: ‘The UKCS is back. Big questions facing the basin have been answered in this round.’
I know this means higher prices at the pumps but if Unionist commentators were able to insist that no oil income meant Scotland could not make it alone then this potential revenue cannot now be ignored. Of course, Douglas Fraser has already shown that he will change horses and concentrate on the damage high prices might do to other parts of the economy. We cannot win, if we let them control this narrative.
Talking-up Scotland 
Real easy to Answer how much “Damage” high oil prices do to a country – Just take a look at Norway……..
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Yes, good answer indeed.
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I think this will be reported as “England’s oil and gas fields much closer to the coast than Scotland’s, which means that the high sea-to-shore costs will drive the price of Scotland’s already very high oil prices even higher, forcing many businesses into bankruptcy. Oil is a curse on Scotland. Best leave the UK to manage it”
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Ssshh!!! They might be reading this.
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