Rigged reasoning

Published on 20/12/2012 00:00

DAVID Stevenson (Letters, 15 December) neatly summarised the history of the Scottish shale industry.

However, it is sad that he tries to make a political point by stating that the industry was killed by the UK Government’s imposition of a higher tax on Scottish-produced petroleum.

I have never seen this statement before; the truth is that the government established a preferential tax on home-produced oils in 1929 and provided support for the development of Grangemouth.

The Scottish industry was ­finally killed in 1962 by competition from foreign oilfields, principally American; not surprising when their oil squirted from the ground by the barrel while our shale had to be dug out by the bucketful.

N Mackenzie

Grange Loan

Edinburgh