Stuart Blair Donaldson
Main Page: Stuart Blair Donaldson (Scottish National Party - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Mr Speaker
Nobody could accuse the right hon. Lady of excluding from her answers any matter that she judges in any circumstance might be thought material.
Stuart Blair Donaldson (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (SNP)
10. What steps the Government are taking to support the oil and gas industry; and if she will make a statement.
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Andrea Leadsom)
The Government are committed to supporting the oil and gas industry, which is vital to our energy supply, as well as supporting 375,000 jobs across the UK. We are establishing the new Oil and Gas Authority, which is already helping industry to drive down costs and improve efficiencies. The Chancellor has also introduced strong fiscal measures to maintain and build investment.
Stuart Blair Donaldson
The Aberdeen and Grampian chamber of commerce oil and gas survey showed that the industry believes that more needs to be done to increase exploration drilling, without which there will be no new projects. Will the Minister engage with the industry to develop proposals to incentivise exploration and protect long-term employment?
Andrea Leadsom
We are absolutely committed to that. The establishment of the Oil and Gas Authority under Dr Andy Samuel is a vital part of that. The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the Government have provided some money for seismic studies to identify potential new finds. I assure him that we and the Oil and Gas Authority will be doing everything we can to support the very important work to maximise economic recovery from the North sea basin.