21 Sep 2006
Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP reiterated the importance of offshore industries to the Scottish economy as he visited an important North Sea development today.
The Secretary of State for Scotland flew to BP's Bruce platform, 200 miles north east of Aberdeen, to see at first-hand the life and work on an offshore platform and the continuing massive contribution the oil and gas industry makes to the UK economy.
The visit offered an insight into the increasingly sophisticated techniques used to recover oil and gas from new, often more difficult fields, as companies seek to maintain output from remaining North Sea reserves.
Since December 2005, the Bruce platform has also been recovering gas from the Rhum field. This is the world's first high-pressure, high-temperature gas reservoir developed using new subsea technology to collect and process its output to a form which can be brought back through existing pipelines.
The Secretary of State said:
"North Sea oil and gas will remain a vital industry for
Britain and for Scotland for many years to come. I'm
grateful for the opportunity to come here. It has been
fascinating to see the platform and to meet the workforce.
"A remarkable level of expertise and innovation goes into maximising the considerable potential that still exists in North Sea energy resources. This has resulted in Scotland's world class skills and technologies being exported around the world. Nowhere is this more evident than in the sub-sea engineering sector where we are undoubtedly world leaders and Aberdeen is a global centre of excellence."
"Scotland's future prosperity depends on the ability to compete in industries where the real product is skill and innovation. The offshore industry understands this and deserves our support.
"It is important that the right mix of companies
are operating here. And it is essential that there
is continued investment of the order we have seen today
to secure new oil and gas supplies from the North Sea.
This work will secure job opportunities, both offshore and
in firms providing sub-sea technology and other support
services."
The Secretary of State also welcomed BP's contribution to the work of the industry taskforce PILOT, which he called "a model of government - industry partnership for prosperity."
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. Photo available of Secretary of State's visit to Bruce platform: