Oil tycoon Sir Ian Wood says halting new fields would be 'crazy'

It would be "absolutely crazy" for the UK to stop drilling for new oil, a business leader has claimed.

Sir Ian Wood, who used to run a major oil supply company, believes it would be "detrimental, environmentally" to shut down the sector.

He says new fields are necessary to stop oil and gas being imported from countries with less strict regulations.

Environmentalists say drilling for new oil would be "disastrous for the climate".

The claims come amid opposition to the proposed Cambo oil field west of Shetland.

Sir Ian suggests any attempt to "shut down" the UK sector without a parallel drop in demand for oil would mean more emissions.

The sector has previously argued this would come from the increased transportation of oil to satisfy domestic demand.

But Sir Ian also claims the production process in most other countries is much more harmful than at home.

For that reason he believes continued drilling and production of domestic oil and gas is a greener option than cutting off supply.

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In an interview with BBC Scotland, he said: "If we do that we will damage the environment.

"If we don't have our own oil and gas we'll have to import it because we just don't have any other resources.

"And if we import it we'll have more potent gas and we'll do more damage to the environment - it would be, frankly, absolutely crazy. It would be detrimental, environmentally."

Sir Ian Wood is one of the UK oil and gas industry's most respected leaders.

He ran the family-owned Wood Group - one of the world's most successful oil supply companies - until his retirement as chief executive in 2006.

He then wrote the report Maximising Economic Recovery, which advised ministers on how to extend the lifespan of the sector.

Green groups have mounted high-profile campaigns against the development of a new oil field west of Shetland.

Siccar Point Energy says it plans to recover 170m barrels of oil from phase one of its Cambo field project.

Its application for an oil field development licence is being considered by regulators.

'Disaster for the climate'

Greenpeace has said it will mount a legal challenge if the government approves the development.

Mel Evans, from the pressure group, said Sir Ian's comments were "a load of rubbish".

"New oil would be disastrous for the climate," she continued. "Looking at our own oil production, the UK has an abysmal track record on operational emissions - we're decades behind Norway.

"And we already export 80% of oil produced in the UK, so claiming that new oil is needed for our own supply is misleading."

The industry body Oil and Gas UK has published a blueprint for how it intends to reduce the carbon impact of its production processes.

It plans to be net-zero by 2050 with most of its platforms powered by renewable energy.

In his interview, Sir Ian suggests there would be a significant impact to the economy of north east Scotland if oil and gas production ended earlier than planned.

He said: "Right now there's 71,000 jobs in oil and gas in Scotland. And if they went out there quickly then these jobs would go.

"Not only that, we'd have a massive balance of payments issue as well.

"It does not make sense from any point of view. You're better from the economic point of view, from the environment point of view, from the jobs point of view, to carry on the path we're on."