Sturgeon hails success of oil and gas industry

The oil and gas industry is still a “great success”, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon insisted as she highlighted new figures showing spending by the sector on innovation almost trebled last year.

Investment of £15.9 million by Scottish Enterprise - the Scottish Government’s enterprise agency - helped 82 firms working in the sector in 201617, allowing them to come up with 111 innovative projects aimed at making their business more competitive.

The projects had a combined value of £43m - up from £14.5m the previous year.

The funding also means the Scottish Government exceeded a commitment to provide £10 million to support greater levels of innovation in the North Sea.

Ms Sturgeon highlighted the figures in a speech to the Oil and Gas UK Conference in Aberdeen.

She added; “This investment by Scottish Enterprise highlights that Scotland is continuing to lead the way in making oil and gas one of this country’s great success stories.”