Scotland's energy minister delays oil-gas policy pending UK spatial plan release

Stephen Gethins, the SNP energy minister, said that Scotland’s long-delayed energy strategy will not be published before the UK government releases its final strategic spatial energy plan (SSEP), scheduled for autumn 2027, meaning a delay of at least a year. While the SNP conference in Aberdeen approved a motion that effectively scrapped the party’s historic presumption against oil and gas projects, Gethins said he cannot confirm a formal policy change until the strategy is ready, citing the risk of it being rendered obsolete by the SSEP.

First Minister John Swinney reportedly supports the motion, which frames domestic production as preferable to imports. Conservative shadow energy secretary Andrew Bowie has criticised the SNP for lingering on the presumption, urging Swinney to endorse new drilling in the North Sea. Gethins also highlighted concerns that Scotland’s renewable ambitions, including floating offshore wind, must be integrated into any future plan and warned about the lack of UK “guardrails” for a £1.5 bn Chinese investment by Ming Yang. The last Scottish energy strategy was released in 2017.