In Insider today:
‘Equinor to buy stake in North Sea’s Rosebank project. The oil and gas field is one of the biggest prospects on the UK Continental Shelf.Bottom of Form Norwegian oil company Equinor has confirmed that it is to buy a 40 per cent stake from Chevron in the Rosebank oil and gas field, one of the biggest prospects on the UK Continental Shelf. Equinor said in a statement: “We look forward to becoming the operator of the Rosebank project. We have a proven track record of high value field developments across the North Sea and will now be able to deploy this experience on a new project in the UK.’
And from Oil & Gas UK:
‘The Rosebank project is one of the largest known pre-Final Investment Decision (FID) developments in the UK (sic) Continental Shelf. With over 300 million barrels which could potentially be recovered, Equinor’s track record of successfully developing complex and challenging fields means they are well matched to maximise economic recovery from Rosebank.’
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/equinor-chevron-north-sea-oil-13342867
By 2019, 300 million barrels, from just one field, could be worth £30 billion!
An alleged lack of new field development is commonly used by our Nomedia to weaken optimism around increases in the value of Scottish oil. See these:
Scotland’s oil-based prosperity is clear as BP commits to two new developments
Major growth in North Sea oilfield developments
Scottish Government invests additional £2.2m in oil and gas research and development
SNP Government’s massive invest
‘Boom in Production from Giant [Kraken] Shetland Field Spurs Oil Industry’
Total begins to make massive profits from Scotland’s oilfields west of Shetland
£290 billion of tax revenue still in the North Sea and much more to the west of Shetland
Footnote: Why is a Norwegian company so keen to get involved? Well one reason might be the obvious one – they’ll pay much less tax than in a Norwegian field. See:
‘London is giving away Scotland’s oil revenues
Tom Mitro, who managed Chevron’s taxation and financial planning in the North Sea in the 1990s, said [a new tax] scheme could deprive the Treasury of more than £3bn in tax over the next decade.
“Overall impact on the Exchequer of [the transferable tax history scheme] could range from virtually zero to roughly [a] £3bn [plus] reduction in tax receipts over the next 10 years depending on oil prices and [the] number of asset sales and decommissioning [of North Sea platforms and pipelines],” he said in a research paper prepared for Global Witness, the non-governmental organisation.
But why does the Treasury care? If it assists the spin that Scotland cannot survive on its own, I suspect that’s considered a price worth paying. And I would not be at all surprised if that is part of the political motivation for this.’
http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2018/09/03/london-is-giving-away-scotlands-oil-revenues/
and:
‘Huge swing in North Sea oil revenues’ suggests tax fiddle
https://resourcegovernance.org/blog/did-uk-miss-out-%c2%a3400-billion-worth-oil-revenue
http://www.businessforscotland.com/norway-still-getting-much-tax-oil/
Talking-up Scotland 
Just a thought. 300 million barrels of liquid gold under Scottish waters and we, the people of this country, don’t actually own a teaspoonful of it.
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Only we….
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Yep, great isn’t it. And those that have taken advantage of it,,, have severely mismanaged the potential. Kinda reminds you of ‘theft’ doesn’t it?
How can anyone still think the union is a good thing?
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UK Continental Shelf?
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The Queen probably owns it,
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A ‘cheeky’ little piece re. the tory conference shenanigans carried on rt – promise I’m not making this up (Can’t understand why the ‘Scottish’ tories believe the title of the operation makes it clear it is aimed at Boris? – given the multitude of candidates that particular anglo-saxon nomenclature covers within the tory party I can see real scope for confusion). Snippet and link below:
‘Operation Arse’ revealed – Scots plot to rear-end Boris Johnson’s PM dream
Scottish Conservatives are plotting to stop Boris Johnson becoming prime minister as part of a secret campaign dubbed “Operation Arse,” the Daily Record has reported.
A senior Tory source told the Daily Record: “We called [the campaign] that so we’d all be clear who we were talking about.”
Operation Arse will chiefly involve Scottish Tory MPs voting against Johnson in any leadership contest, while plotters will also look to spread the message to constituencies that Johnson would be bad for the Scottish Conservatives.
The unveiling of Operation Arse comes during the Tory Party conference, a mostly drab affair which has only been notable for the open infighting that solely centers around Brexit and is invariably aimed at Boris Johnson.
https://www.rt.com/uk/440101-arse-operation-boris-johnson/
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The name gives a clue as to what they’re going to make of their little ‘rebellion.
Much the same as they’ve made of everything else!!!
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‘Operation Arse’ revealed – Scots plot to rear-end Boris Johnson’s PM dream
You should write headlines!
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Interesting percentages from survey work undertaken by Unis of Cardiff and Edinburgh – see link and paras below – oughtn’t they drop the ‘unionist’ from their party title from now on?:
https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/952642-will-the-union-survive-brexit
A majority of those in England who voted for the UK to leave the European Union are willing to risk the breakup of the UK to make Brexit happen, according to new research from Cardiff University and the University of Edinburgh.
Eighty-eight per cent of leave voters felt that a ‘yes’ vote in a second referendum on Scottish independence was an acceptable price to pay in order to “take back control.” A similarly high proportion, 81%, also felt that destabilising the Northern Ireland peace process would be worthwhile to see the UK exit the European Union.
The findings, taken from the latest Future of England survey, were be presented at a fringe meeting of the Conservative Party’s Annual Conference in Manchester.
Conservative supporting leave voters are also more likely to countenance the breakup of the UK with 92% prepared to accept Scotland voting for independence (compared to 78% of Labour supporting leave voters). By the same token, 87% of Conservative supporting leave voters would be willing to risk jeopardising Northern Ireland’s peace process (compared to 67% of Labour supporting Leave voters).
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Professor Ailsa Henderson, Professor of Political Science at the University of Edinburgh, said: “It’s evident from the data just how high a price many leave voters would be willing to pay to make Brexit a success. What’s perhaps most remarkable is the substantial proportion of Conservative supporters that are willing to risk the breakup of the UK to see Brexit happen.”
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Interesting how this works out as the Tory leadership cannot countenance losing UK.
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