Question reference: S5W-33412
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 20 November 2020
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Current status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 9 December 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) representatives of the oil and gas industry and (b) the UK Government regarding the recovery of energy industry employment in North East Scotland after the COVID-19 crisis.
Answer
The Scottish Government has regular engagement with the energy sector, Oil and Gas UK, the Oil and Gas Authority and UK (BEIS) Ministers and officials on the industry’s challenge in response to COVID-19 and the longer term issues facing the sector and its supply chain as a result of the low oil and gas prices.
I have specifically held a number of strategic engagements with the sector in recent weeks, and continue to hold regular meetings of the Scottish Government’s Oil and Gas Energy Transition Strategic Leadership Group to hear directly from stakeholders on the immediate and longer term challenges affecting the sector.
Since April I have chaired seven meetings of the Oil and Gas and Energy Transition Strategic Leadership Group. The group has been working to identify support for the sector, including opportunities in workforce retention, skills and training, drawing upon the efforts of OGUK’s Pandemic Steering Group and the OGA’s Supply Chain Taskforce. The Group is made up of representatives from across the sector including companies, the public sector, trade unions, Oil and Gas UK, the Oil and Gas Authority and the UK Government. The group was instrumental in the creation of sector specific guidance, and the creation of the £62 million Energy Transition Fund - focused on supporting key projects located in the North East.
I speak regularly with the UK Energy Minister, Kwasi Kwarteng MP, on a range of issues impacting the energy sector, and indeed, we are working closely at official and Ministerial level to address the pressures on the industry. I attended the most recent meeting of the North Sea Transition Forum (formerly the Maximising Economic Recovery Forum) on 7th December. This was attended by Kwasi Kwarteng MP and chaired by the OGA, at which details of the North Sea Transition Deal were discussed.