Tuesday, May 1, 2007

What makes Scotland think they'll get to keep all "their" oil?

North Sea Oil is to Scottish politics what gold rings are to Golumn - it's a corrupting influence on all debate and distorts all rational analysis of the pros and cons of independence. But never mind the arguments over the valuation of reserves or the fact that over-reliance on a single (finite) commodity tends to damage economies ('Dutch Disease') - what makes supporters of Scottish independence think that, in the event that they break away, the rest of the UK will simply let them keep it all?

Geographical proximity has never been the sole determinant of sovereignty (eg: Falklands, Gibraltar) and the North Sea Oil Fields were developed by Britain, not Scotland, in waters that are owned by Britain, not Scotland. In this age of increasing energy insecurity, it seems naive to expect that England, Wales and Northern Ireland would simply sign away all rights to North Sea oil, simply because Aberdeen happens to be closest to most of the rigs...

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