A bumper £9.4 billion from the North Sea was a major contributor to the improvement in Scotland's public finances, new figures revealed yesterday
Neil Gray, the party's Wellbeing Economy Secretary, said the £9.4billion of revenues in 2022/23 demonstrated "our vibrant energy sector" and how "the UK continues to benefit from Scotland's natural wealth".
But the Tories have questioned how that tallied with SNP proposals to create a presumption against new oil and gas exploration.
Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, has also pledged to end new North Sea exploration if his party wins next year's general election.
The Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) figures for 2022/23 published yesterday found that the country's tax take increased by £15billion to £87.5billion last year.
That was thanks to a £7billion jump in North Sea oil and gas revenues in the wake of the Ukraine war and the energy crisis, and inflation driving a £8.1 billion rise in onshore taxes.
The paper shows that two thirds of Corporation Tax revenue came from the North Sea.
Public services cost
But spending on public services in Scotland surged by 9.5% to £106.6billion, giving the country a £19billion deficit - 9% of GDP.
The Telegraph says this was almost double the UK-wide figure of 5.2% and higher than the deficit of any EU member state.
Tax revenue per person in Scotland was £696 higher than the British average thanks to North Sea oil and gas, but public spending was £2,217 per person more.
Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) policy director Ryan Crighton said: "The GERS figures show there remains a marked difference between what Scotland spends on public services and what it raises in taxes - to the tune of £19billion.
"AGCC has long called for a business environment which stimulates enterprise, allows companies to grow and reinvest and ensures that Scotland remains competitive in UK and global terms from a tax perspective.
"What these figures reveal is that our energy sector is critical to any future economic success Scotland might hope to achieve, with the North Sea making up £9.4billion in terms of the gap between revenue and public spending.
Incentivising reinvestment
"Any other nation on earth would be incentivising reinvestment now to turbocharge our transition to net zero and utilising the existing expertise that exists within our sector to achieve that, rather than adopting a presumption against oil and gas."
Mike Tholen, sustainability and policy director at trade body Offshore Energies UK, told Energy Voice that the GERS figures showed the sector's "significant economic contribution".
"Our members are the driving force for the economy supporting Scotland in ensuring security of energy supply while helping to meet its net-zero ambitions.
"As we build that net-zero future, there is no simple choice between oil and gas on the one hand, and renewables on the other.
"Support from both the UK and Scottish governments is key to helping manage the decline of oil and gas effectively to maintain the supply of domestic energy, while protecting jobs. This will help ensure the growth of new economic opportunities, while enabling the sector to build the critical infrastructure needed to transition to a net-zero future."
Scottish Conservative finance spokeswoman Liz Smith said the figures highlighted the benefit Scots get from being part of a strong United Kingdom and that the SNP had squandered its record funding settlement.
Key role
"The figures also wholly reaffirm the case for ensuring our oil and gas sector continuing to play a key role in Scotland's economy for years to come," she said.
"That is why it is astonishing that every other political party - including the SNP-Green coalition and Keir Starmer's Labour Party - have turned their backs on the industry."
Scottish Labour finance spokesman Michael Marra said the statistics showed the economic benefit that Scots receive as part of the UK.
"With Scots individually benefiting to the tune of some £2,217 from higher spending in Scotland despite the larger negative balance in Scotland's public finances, the potential harsh financial cost of leaving the union is laid bare for all to see," he said.
'Huge deficit'
"It is (First Minister) Humza Yousaf's duty to explain exactly what he would cut, when and how deeply to make up this huge deficit in his independence plans."
David Phillips, associate director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said: "To avoid even bigger spending cuts or tax rises than in the rest of the UK over the coming decades, an independent Scotland would need to see a sustained boost to economic growth.
"That's certainly possible - indeed, during the 2000s, Scotland's employment, earnings and economic growth outpaced that of the UK as a whole. But the decline in oil and gas output in the North Sea and associated onshore economic activity - already noticeable since the referendum in 2014 - would present some tricky headwinds."