Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to encourage investment in the oil and gas industry in the (a) UK and (b) north east of Scotland.

The Government is committed to encouraging investment in the oil and gas industry across the whole of the UK, building on previous incentives such as tax reduction and funding support.

It awarded the Oil & Gas Authority a £5 million fund for 2018/19 to survey under-explored areas of the UK Continental Shelf to find potential new deposits. The successful award of licences for the UK’s Frontier 31^st Offshore Licensing Round announced in June was supported by data from the Government-Funded Seismic Programme.

The Oil & Gas Technology Centre, backed by both the UK and Scottish governments, today has more than £100 million co-invested with industry to develop and deploy technology, helping anchor the industry’s expert engineering supply chain in the North East. In May, the government backed industry plans for a Global Underwater Engineering Hub in Aberdeen to reinforce the UK’s status as a global leader in the field and build on expertise in subsea robotics, remotely-operated underwater vehicles and maritime support vessels. This will strengthen Aberdeen’s place as an energy hub for offshore and renewables, boosting prospects for new skilled jobs and further investment in the region.