Oil licences still needed for Net Zero transition – Swinney

The future of the North Sea oil and gas industry has been a regular topic of debate during the general election campaign.

Labour say they would help create to 69,000 jobs supported by a new publicly-owned energy company, but refuse to approve any new north sea licences.

The Conservatives favour new exploration licences, saying both the SNP and Labour would fail to protect the industry.

The Scottish Lib Dems said both the Scottish and UK governments have failed to make progress on a fair transition away from fossil fuels.

Mr Swinney also echoed comments made by his deputy first minister Kate Forbes last week.

She told BBC’s Question Time programme that the party would consider new licences to drill in the North Sea on a “case-by-case” basis.

Mr Swinney added that future applications for oil and gas licenses must be considered “rationally”.

On BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show programme, Labour MSP Daniel Johnson accused the SNP of “trying to have their cake and eat it”.

He said: “We need to accelerate our transition to renewables. We’ve said – and this is not straightforward – that we should have no new oil licenses.

“We have to ensure that our energy sector, which is very important, transitions as quickly as possible so that we realise our net zero potential.”