Alex Salmond calls for share of oil 'windfall'

First Minister Alex Salmond today stepped up his call for extra cash generated by rising oil prices to be used for Scotland's benefit.

He urged Westminster to use 10% of the £4.4 billion windfall to set up a long term oil fund to benefit Scotland in the years to come.

Mr Salmond also called for the introduction of a fuel price regulator, by which rising fuel tax revenues would be used to take the edge off fuel price rises.

He told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland that concessions of the type he was seeking could also help public services.

"Right across government and local government, there won't be a public service that's not affected by high energy bills and the Chancellor can do something about it if he uses the windfall to ease the pressure," said the First Minister.

"And secondly, from a Scottish point of view, this is the moment when we must start an oil fund."

Norway's oil fund was now approaching £186 billion while the Canadian province of Alberta had a fund of around £9 billion.

"Even if we got a percentage share of the windfall gain, we can make a start on building up an investment fund to power the Scottish economy in the future," said Mr Salmond.

"Even £500 million this year could make a start on Scotland getting a long term gain from our own natural resources."

Mr Salmond warned that unless the Prime Minister and Chancellor faced the issue of rising energy costs, the Westminster government risked being "engulfed by public fury".

Mr Salmond also argued that current prices strengthen the case for an oil fund, and Alberta's example showed this could be done without independence.

"The last 30 years have come and gone - there's nothing we can do about that," he said.

"The beauty of the current situation is that there is more value left in the waters around Scotland than even what has been extracted to date.

"There might be slightly less in volume terms, although perhaps not much less, but in value terms there's much, much more.

"So it's not too late if we act now, decisively and politically, to put ourselves in the same secure position as other major oil producers."

Meanwhile UK energy minister Malcolm Wicks has been "caught out" on proposals for an oil fund, says SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson.

Mr Wicks today conceded that Norway's decision to set up an oil fund was "attractive" for that country.

“Malcolm Wicks says he thinks an oil fund is a good idea – but not for Scotland, and not now," Mr Gibson explained.

"If an oil fund was attractive in 2007 at $92 a barrel why is it no longer attractive to Malcolm Wicks at $120 a barrel?

“The Norwegian Oil fund was started only 12 years ago and is now worth £186 billion, the Alaskan oil fund is worth £19 billion and the Alberta Oil fund worth nearly £9 billion.

“Scotland may have missed the opportunity to invest the last 30 years of oil wealth for our future but we should not miss this new opportunity.

“With nearly as much oil left in the North Sea as has already been extracted, and the possibility of more wealth from North Sea oil than has been made so far, it would be ridiculous not to start an oil fund now and invest a portion of the revenues for Scotland’s future."