Scottish independence: North sea oil clean up cost

By EDDIE BARNES
Published on 19/03/2013 00:00

TAXPAYERS in Scotland will not know how much of the estimated £17 billion cost of cleaning up North Sea oil will fall on their shoulders until after Yes vote, the Scottish Government has confirmed.

Ministers have said the rest of the UK would have a “moral and legal obligation” to pay for the clean-up, given that the UK has benefited from oil revenues over the past 40 years.

Officials in Edinburgh have now said that they expect London to make “a contribution”, to be determined during the crucial negotiations that would be held after a Yes vote on the terms of a split.

The overall cost of decommissioning oil rigs as the North Sea is run down has been estimated by oil firms at £35bn. Ministers in Edinburgh say that, after a Yes vote, they will provide tax relief for oil firms to help with the cost of winding down rigs.