Nicola Sturgeon: “North Sea oil not solution to Russian reliance”

Scotland’s First Minister said that more renewables could provide energy independence in the long-term

The head of the Scottish Government has said ramping up North Sea oil and gas is not a short-term solution to Europe’s reliance on Russian supplies.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Production in the North Sea in the short-term is not a practically deliverable solution.

“If we were to give the go-ahead to Cambo for example right now, 2026 would be the earliest it could start producing oil.

“With new nuclear as well. If we were to give the go-ahead to new nuclear energy today, it would be years, if not decades before any of that came on stream.

“That’s a practical reality. We need to find the solutions now and we need to make sure that we are accelerating the transition to renewable and low carbon energy because that is the solution to the dependence on Russian oil and gas over the mid-term to long-term.”

Last week, Ms Sturgeon said governments must make sure that Putin’s regime and his network of oligarchs are as isolated as possible. 

She had previously welcomed announcements by bp and Equinor to divest from Russian oil and gas. 

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