A former SNP energy secretary for Scotland has taken aim at "extreme" Scottish Green policy on the country's oil and gas production.
Fergus Ewing condemned the SNP's powersharing partner amid ongoing tension over supplies from Russia in the wake of the invasion in Ukraine.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she will not support new North Sea fields, including the stalled Cambo development off Shetland.
But Mr Ewing said in a TV interview last night: "We need all the oil and gas production we can get for the short and the medium term."
The MSP for Inverness and Nairn added: "The transition (period) will last for decades. Not two or three years, five or 10 years, but we will still require oil and gas for a much longer period.
"Everyday household products, drugs in the NHS, anaesthetics - we require hydrocarbons for all of these things, let's not forget that.
"It's not possible just to produce oil and gas for anaesthetics and abandon it for everything else - the industry doesn't work like that."
Asked if Ms Sturgeon had made a mistake by bringing the Greens into her government, Mr Ewing said that question should be directed at the First Minister.
He added: "I can't say that I'm a great enthusiast for the policies of the Green Party that do seem to me to be somewhat extreme.
"Particularly the policy of sacrificing the people in our oil and gas industry. I think they are amongst the best in the world. They do a great job. They keep the lights on, they keep the heating on in our homes. That's valuable.
"We should be praising and thanking them, not saying that they should get their P45s tomorrow."
Scottish Conservative shadow cabinet secretary for net zero, energy and transport Liam Kerr commented later: "It should be a wake-up call for Nicola Sturgeon when her own former energy minister breaks ranks to criticise her stance on Scotland's oil and gas industry."
But Green MSP Mark Ruskell said Mr Ewing's analysis "ignores the climate crisis".
He added: "The transition away from oil and gas will take time, but expanding reserves now will only lock us into long-term dependency on oil and gas for decades to come. That would be irresponsible for our climate and our energy security."