With riches from six North Sea fields either landing or scheduled to appear on its shores, Scotland's most important liquid asset these days is not whisky but oil. From the Shetland Islands (noted for knitwear and shaggy ponies) in the north, to Peterhead, Edinburgh and Glasgow, oil is becoming Scotland's biggest industry. Already it is creating jobs, money and humor. One joke about the high pay of Scottish oil workers: "Did you hear that one of the welders married a commoner?"
The capital of the activity is Aberdeen, an outward-looking city of 180,000 long accustomed to foreigners through export of herring...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
