SNP Westminster leader Dave Doogan is calling on the UK government to use forecast North Sea oil and gas tax receipts to fully fund the Acorn carbon capture project in Aberdeenshire. The project was previously promised £200m in grant funding, but Chancellor John Healey changed that commitment to loans or an equity stake. The SNP described the move as a betrayal and said the revenue from Scotland's oil and gas should be reinvested in Scottish energy infrastructure. Acorn is designed to store emissions from across Scotland under the North Sea seabed and could support around 15,000 jobs at peak. The UK government says Acorn will keep its existing grant funding until the end of the year, with future support through loans or equity so the taxpayer gets a return. The OBR forecast of £5.1bn in oil and gas revenue for 2026-27 includes the Rosebank field and future discoveries that have not been approved, which makes the funding source less certain than it sounds.
