Oil industry to embrace renewables

More than half of the gas and oil industry firms in Scotland will have added renewables to their portfolios by 2016, it has been claimed.

A new report by Lloyds Banking Group suggested that 26 per cent of firms have already moved to the green sector to some extent, with this figure expected to rise to 55 per cent in five years.

The oil industry seems optimistic about growth, with 87 per cent forecasting significant growth, a third planning on recruiting more than 1,000 new workers and 83 per cent predicting they will place more orders.

"Oil and gas companies already know they will need more capacity to handle the extra business coming their way next year and that is heartening news for the economy and for the jobs market," explained Alasdair Gardner, managing director for Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets in Scotland.

The report follows claims by energy minister Fergus Ewing that there could be oil and gas reserves worth more than £1 trillion still to recover in the North Sea.

Posted by Claire Manning