BP Exits the North Sea as Ardersier Sits Empty

Primary Author or Creator:
Business for Scotland
Publisher:
Business for Scotland
Alternative Published Date
2026
Category:
Type of Resource:
Article
Fast Facts

Where is the transition between oil and renewal energy jobs?

More details

Experts like those at the Energy Transition Unit at Robert Gordon’s University in Aberdeen have long called for a whole sector approach to managing Scotland’s energy resources. They were part of the effort to persuade the former Chancellor Rachel Reeves to adopt a tax framework that would have encouraged big players to stay in Aberdeen and be part of the transition. 

These pleas fell on deaf ears. Now BP is packing its bags at the same time as Ardersier lies empty. 

There are renewed hopes with the change of Labour PM to Andy Burnham that there could be a change of heart. That is unlikely. Scotland’s position is one of holding little electoral clout within a UK that pursues an extractive model towards Scotland’s resources. 

Only with independence can Scotland protect its economic assets, secure its green industrial future, control its own vast natural wealth, and ensure that Scottish jobs and economic prosperity are never again sacrificed to serve the political interests of a London parliament.

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