MINISTERS have been accused of a dereliction of duty after refusing to reveal when they will publish an updated forecast on the state of the North Sea oil industry in light of plummeting prices.
In the run-up to the referendum, the Scottish Government published three oil and gas bulletins which painted a positive picture of the future of North Sea oil, with two including price forecasts of around $110 a barrel in the years to come.
However, the predictions proved to be wildly optimistic, with the price nosediving over the last six months to around $50. The drop has led to fears that Scotland would be left with a £18.6 billion black hole in its finances between 2016 and 2019, should the SNP achieve its goal of Holyrood achieving full fiscal autonomy following May's general election.
Energy Secretary Fergus Ewing, when asked when an updated bulletin would be published, said: "Projections for future tax receipts will depend on what changes to the fiscal regime are made by the UK Treasury, and whether the UK Government improve their stewardship of the industry."
Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Gavin Brown said his party had pushed repeatedly for a new update, but that the latest excuse was "the most feeble yet".
"The Scottish Government has dithered for months in refusing to update oil forecasts," he said. "These were regularly published when the price was high before the referendum.
"It is crucial for both business and workers in Scotland that the Scottish Government regularly updates its projections on this crucial industry."
Labour has warned that Scotland is facing a jobs crisis as a result of the plummeting oil price, with one in 12 posts in the industry at risk.
The party's Scottish leader, Jim Murphy, has written to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon twice calling on her to publish a revised oil and gas bulletin.
Jackie Baillie, Labour's finance spokeswoman, said: "This is not about rerunning the referendum but supporting one of Scotland's key industries. The oil crisis is the biggest threat to jobs in Scotland since Ravenscraig and for the SNP to say it's not their problem is a dereliction of duty."
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