SNP's McAllan supports more 'evidence-led' drilling in North Sea
PA MediaSNP minister Mairi McAllan has said there should be more drilling in the North Sea, providing it is compatible with energy targets and required for energy security.
Appearing on the BBC'S Question Time, McAllan initially said she had "not seen the evidence" to support more drilling - as decisions on further oil exploration are made by the UK government - but made the concession when pressed.
It comes weeks after John Swinney signalled a softening of the SNP's stance against licensing new offshore fossil fuel developments, set out in 2023.
Other party leaders criticised the SNP's position on oil and gas and made their own pitches on future drilling or a transition away from fossil fuels.
Scottish Labour promised to end the "ideological opposition" to nuclear energy, while Reform UK and the Scottish Conservatives said they would facilitate more drilling.
The Scottish LibDems said they would support exploration if it made more environmental sense than importing fossil fuels - while the Scottish Greens said continued extraction made no sense, either for the environment or energy security.
The programme was held in Aberdeen, where panellists faced keen questions from audience members - some of whom had been affected by job losses in the region.
Oil prices in the UK have spiked in recent weeks after US President Donald Trump said he would hit Iran "extremely hard" in the ongoing conflict.
The US-Israeli war with Iran has led, in effect, to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane which a large proportion of the world's energy supply passes through.
Control of licensing for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea lies with the UK government, which under Labour has a policy of not permitting new developments.
However, that opposition has softened since the last general election, with permission for new drilling on or near existing fields, known as "tiebacks", being granted last year.
UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and the industry regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority, are currently considering whether to give final approval to two major oil and gas fields - Rosebank and Jackdaw.
Against this backdrop of energy insecurity, the Question Time panel were asked whether they would support moves to increase North Sea oil and gas production.
McAllan said each new proposal "needs to be considered against climate compatibility, which remains an obligation, and energy security, which is a moving picture".
She also said she would prefer that decisions on the matter were made in Scotland, criticising the UK government's energy profits levy, which she said was "starving the industry of the very investment that we need to transition".
When host Fiona Bruce asked whether she thinks further drilling should take place, McAllan said: "If it can be demonstrated that it's both climate-compatible and required for energy security, then yes it should".
Reform UK's Scotland leader, Malcolm Offord, said it was "daft" that Scotland was importing oil and gas from Norway and said he would create a licence arrangement with energy companies where fuel is only for domestic use.
"We can use our own North Sea gas as a transition fuel to a future," he said.
Getty ImagesScottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said "we need to drill for everything we have in the North Sea" and was critical of the SNP, saying they were "pretending" that they had not changed their position.
He also lambasted John Swinney for not appearing on the programme and "answering to the people of the north east" himself - to which McAllan accused him of having a "problem with women being represented in politics".
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the UK energy secretary should honour the licences granted by the previous Conservative government for the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields.
He also reiterated his party's pledge to end a block on new nuclear energy and said he would make it a priority from "day one" if he became first minister.
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said there should be more exploration if it made environmental sense to extract from our own waters rather than to import from abroad.
Taking a different stance, the co-leader of the Scottish Greens Gillian Mackay said any more drilling was not compatible with the climate or with energy security and said there had to better funding to help workers transition.
Sarwar and Offord clash
The panel were also asked for their positions on a future referendum and how they would tackle public spending.
Offord and Sarwar again clashed over claims about working together to oust the SNP from government after the election.
Offord repeated his claim that when Question Time was broadcast from Paisley in December, Sarwar "bounced up" to him and said Reform were going to "do well and they needed to work together."
Sarwar said that was "utter nonsense" and added that he hoped Reform "get absolutely humped in this election".
Last week the clash made headlines, with Sarwar branding Offord a "liar" and "a pathetic, poisonous, odious little man".
Mackay interjected in the latest war of words between the two, saying it was a "bit of a boring psychodrama."
