Alex Salmond welcomes £10m oil job plan

The First Minister has hailed an ambitious project that could create 150 jobs decommissioning oil rigs.

A total of £10 million is available to support plans for a deepwater quay in Shetland, Alex Salmond said.

Both the Scottish Government and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) are committing up to £5 million for the scheme.

Executives from Lerwick Port Authority, which oversees the main commercial port in Shetland, and representatives of Norwegian firm AF Group met Mr Salmond in Oslo earlier this week.

The islands’ port authority had already signed an agreement with an AF Group subsidiary to establish a centre of excellence at Dales Voe, which is just north of Lerwick, including a 24-metre-deep quay and oil rig decommissioning yard.