The Commons Scottish Affairs Committee published the government response on 9 May to its report on the future of the oil and gas sector.
While it noted “positive noises from the government”, particularly with regard to carbon capture and storage technologies, it found that reluctance remains around providing a sector deal.
Committee Chair Pete Wishart has written to Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry to press for more detail on the government’s stance on a formal sector deal. He has also asked how the government will ensure its phased approach does not lead to areas of less immediate economic benefit to the sector, such as work on energy transition and carbon capture, being neglected in favour of the areas of the deal that promise a more immediate economic return.
On decommissioning, the committee said that, while the government’s response acknowledges that decommissioning expertise presents a global economic opportunity for Scotland’s industry, “little tangible progress has been made”.