Page 12 - EurOil Week 46 2021

EurOil POLICY EurOil

Scotland spurns offer to join

Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance

UK SCOTLAND has not joined the Beyond Oil and named when the alliance was formally launched
Gas Alliance (BOGA) of countries seeking an on November 11.
The climate group does end to oil and gas drilling, despite hosting the OGUK, which represents the UK upstream
not contain any major COP26 climate summit, raising questions about industry, said it welcomed the decision by the
oil and gas producers. the group’s effectiveness. government in Holyrood.
Denmark and Costa Rica began form- “The UK’s offshore oil and gas industry is
ing BOGA in the summer, hoping to secure changing – we are in a unique position and are
members that would agree to “restrict domes- helping aid the energy transition underway,”
tic oil and gas production in line with what OGUK CEO Deirdre Michie said. “While we
is required to live up to the Paris Agreement still need oil and gas, it is far better we meet our
goals.” These members will end licensing own demand with our own resources rather
rounds and set a deadline for phasing out oil than importing it, which can be far worse for the
and gas production. environment.”
“It is our ambition that this will be the begin- She warned that “putting an arbitrary end
ning of the end of oil and gas,” Danish Climate to supply and production would damage liveli-
Minister Dan Jorgensen told Reuters. “We hope hoods across Scotland – the same communities
that this will inspire others.” whose skills will be vital in helping us achieve a
France, Greenland, Ireland, Sweden, Wales low-carbon economy.”
and the Canadian province of Quebec have all OGUK and other oil and gas associations
joined the alliance. But Denmark and Ireland argue that restricting domestic upstream devel-
are the only members that produce meaningful opment simply results in more imports if it is not
amounts of oil and gas, and in both cases their coupled with a reduction in demand. The dis-
output is diminishing anyway. tances that these imports must be transported
Jorgensen said he was in “close dialogue” with result in more emissions, and the supplies could
Scotland, where most of the UK’s oil and gas come from countries with more lax standards on
reserves are concentrated. But Scotland was not upstream emissions. ™

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