Murphy Oil Corporation (MUR), Apache Corporation (APA): Are Scotland and England Headed for Divorce Court?

Attending to necessities
But before we assume that Scotland will become separated from England once its citizens complete their referendum, which, is slated for Sept. 18, 2014, there are several issues that would necessitate attention:

1). Scotland’s success at sustaining itself financially, largely through hydrocarbons taxation, would depend upon trends in oil and gas production, future energy prices, and a satisfactory accord with London over claims to the U.K. Continental Shelf.

2). The northern country would need to establish its own military.

3). Its ability to gain separate European Union membership and to establish separate international trade agreements.

Were I willing to wager on the future relationship between England and Scotland, I’d likely predict that England will, somewhat grudgingly, permit increased Scottish autonomy, without a granting full-scale independence. Such a compromise would clearly benefit both countries in a variety of ways.

Nevertheless, along with a number of energy-related geopolitical issues taking shape across our globe, this quietly percolating one warrants attentive monitoring, especially among Fools with a taste for oil and gas investments.

The article Are Scotland and England Headed for Divorce Court? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by David Lee Smith.

Fool contributor David Smith owns shares of BP p.l.c. (ADR). The Motley Fool recommends Statoil (ADR). The Motley Fool owns shares of Apache.

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