Norway model

Published on 11/02/2013 00:00

Alf Young (Perspective, 9 February) and Better Together unionists always compare an independent Scotland with the failing economies of Iceland and Ireland. Unlike Scotland, these countries do not have a plethora of oil and gas fields in their territorial waters. Therefore, the No campaign should be comparing Scotland with Norway.

Every day, about 1,200,000 barrels of oil is extracted from the North Sea. The top ten operators in our oil sector are: Shell; BP; Total; Nexen; Centrica; BG Group; Conoco-Phillips; Exxon Mobil; Talisman Energy and Apache. Not one of these companies is registered in Scotland, unlike Norway – whose Statoil Company is not only the major player in the Norwegian Sector of the North Sea but is also now investing billions of pounds in oil and gas exploration worldwide. Since gaining independence from Sweden in 1905, Norway has flourished.

Donald John MacLeod

Woodcroft Avenue

Bridge of Don, Aberdeen