Ukraine-Russia: Nicola Sturgeon rejects call to ‘deal a blow to Putin’ by maximising North Sea oil and gas

Nicola Sturgeon has rejected calls to "deal a blow to Vladimir Putin" by backing an increase in oil and gas production in the North Sea.

The First Minister said the move would not be practical or realistic and stressed the climate crisis "has not gone away".

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said the war in Ukraine had "changed the situation" and called for oil and gas production to be "maximised".

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Picture: Andy Buchanan/PA Wire

Speaking during First Minister's Questions in Holyrood on Thursday, he said: "Russia's appalling actions have put a renewed focus on energy security.

"In Scotland, we have the natural resources to protect our own supply and we have the resources to export to other countries to reduce Europe's dependence on Russian gas."

The UK and US have both announced bans on Russian oil imports, while the EU is slashing its use of Russian gas.

Mr Ross quoted former SNP minister Fergus Ewing, now a party backbencher, who argued “we need all the oil and gas production we can get for the short and the medium term”.

The Scottish Tory leader said: "We can protect Scottish jobs and we can secure our energy supply.

"First Minister, surely now is the time to maximise oil and gas production in Scotland using the energy on our own doorstep?"

Ms Sturgeon said Scotland and the UK are not dependent on Russian oil and gas in the way other countries are.

She said only around 3 per cent of the UK's gas supplies and around 8 per cent of its oil and petroleum supplies come from Russia.

Meanwhile, around 80 per cent of North Sea production is already exported, she said.

The First Minister argued it was "not credible" to suggest the short-term solution to the energy crisis lies in increasing North Sea production, given the timescales and the practicalities involved.

She said: "Existing fields in the North Sea are not currently operating under capacity.

"Expanding existing fields is possible, but that would take months, if not years, and new fields take years, if not decades, to plan and develop.

"So we shouldn't go after solutions that might sound superficially attractive, but don't stand scrutiny around the practicalities and the realities."

Ms Sturgeon called on UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak to take action to "shield households" from the impact of inflation.

In the longer term, she said, "the action the world needs to take to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels is exactly the same action the world needs to take to address the climate emergency".

Ms Sturgeon added: "We must accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels to renewable and low carbon energy, and that's what the Scottish Government remains focused on."

Mr Ross insisted: "Russia's war has changed the situation and we have to accept that.

"Scotland could deal a blow to Vladimir Putin by increasing domestic oil and gas production.

"We could increase that production now. We could end the need to import foreign oil and gas and export more to reduce international reliance on Russian energy.

"It's not the time to be ideological, it's the time to be practical and realistic."

Ms Sturgeon said she was not being ideological, but rather "trying to set out hard, practical reasons" why Mr Ross's call would not work.

Decisions over new oil and gas drilling sit with UK authorities.