Many of Britain ’ s decades-old North Sea oil fields were in decline prior to the 24 June Brexit vote . Now , political uncertainty and the increasing likelihood of another Scottish independence referendum will only worsen the investment climate .

According to Bloomberg , the fall in the value of sterling against the US dollar will cut costs for oil companies and sales of crude — denominated in dollars — will benefit . However , this doesn ’ t change the fact that , if Scotland were to split from the UK , they would be handed some 96 percent of oil production .

North Sea oil will likely suffer from a lack of investment and development until geopolitical conditions are clarified — a process which could take years .

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