Oh no. Not another Daily Mail story.
The Standard Life story is classic Daily Mail. Tell half a story and put a nightmare headline onto it.
Here's that actual statement from Standard Life: http://www.standardlife.com/utility/...atement-2.html - of interest is the extensive use of the word "could", rather than "will".
The BP one isn't entirely surprising. But what is interesting is Bob Dudley saying that the oil will run out in 35 years. But note what else he's saying in this context.
"BP has been in the UK North Sea for 50 years and we hope to operate here for many years to come. However, the province is now mature and I believe Sir Ian Wood correctly assesses its future potential."
Notice that he's specifically referring to the North Sea. It's generally accepted that the North Sea is on its way out, no one disputes that. But not all of the big finds that are coming up are in the North Sea. They're in an area known as The Atlantic Margin off the west coast. Some estimates suggest that there may be up to 100 years of oil production locked away in this area.
http://www.oilandgaspeople.com/news/...rth-trillions/
So as ever in this referendum, nothing is as clear as it seems.