North Sea Oil Revenues Row

Politicians argue over the value of oil revenues in the North Sea as independence referendum looms.

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Holyrood’s Finance Secretary are involved in another war of words this morning – over the anticipated value of North Sea oil reserves.

Danny Alexander says he wants to debunk the myths in the Independence White Paper, and that the SNP’s oil figures don’t add up.

But John Swinney says that to be taken seriously, Mr Alexander must also include Scotland’s share of UK assets.

The chief secretary says the SNP’s £1.5 trillion figure for oil reserves in the North Sea doesn’t include the cost of getting it to the pumps.

He claims the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts UK revenues of £25 billion to 2017, while the SNP’s most cautious forecast for Scottish revenues is £41 billion.

But Mr Swinney says any claims about Scotland’s finances must take account of our share of UK assets, which he puts at £1.3 trillion.

Without that any Westminster analysis would not have a shred of credibility.