Kate Forbes, the former Deputy First Minister of Scotland, has urged current First Minister John Swinney to approve the Rosebank oil development, arguing it is consistent with a recent SNP conference decision and essential for maintaining offshore energy jobs.
Forbes, writing in the Sunday Times, highlighted concerns that up to 18,000 offshore energy jobs could be lost by 2035 if new opportunities do not emerge to offset diminishing oil and gas activity. "It is the right decision to approve Rosebank," Forbes stated. "And doing so is entirely consistent with the motion recently passed at SNP conference, allowing the Scottish government to back Rosebank, for the benefit of Scotland."
SNP delegates at their conference in Aberdeen last month passed a motion that formally abandoned the "presumption against" new drilling previously introduced by Nicola Sturgeon, instead supporting domestic production over foreign imports. However, the Scottish Government is anticipated to postpone the release of its final energy strategy, which would confirm its stance on new drilling, until later in the next year.
Swinney faced criticism last week during First Minister's Questions for repeatedly declining to state whether he supported the Rosebank development. Scottish Conservative energy spokesman Liam Kerr commented that Swinney's refusal to unequivocally back Rosebank is "jeopardising thousands of jobs and is putting Britain’s energy security at risk."
In her article, Forbes also criticized the UK Government's approach to the Acorn carbon capture development, specifically its proposal for loans or equity investment rather than further capital grants, describing the decision as "bewildering."