winchelsea; You stated:

"To us it may [be insane], but the UK gov now owns near 70% of RBS. And through RBS it could aquire a North Sea operation, not that insane from the UK point of view.And the people in the UK in this economic time would support such a deal. Just look at what their doing with the bank. So, even though it doesn't make sense to you and me, it will to many others. If your going to nationalize Banks, why not oil reserves?"

I see your point about perception. I read that the latest round of efforts to help the banks in Britain may see the British government ending up with 90% of RBS. If through its nationalizing the Royal Bank Of Scotland (through its bailouts). the British government seeks to acquire a North Sea operation to in a sense nationalize oil reserves in the North Sea this would be set a very bad precedent on their part. In the great scheme of the oil business in the North Sea ONSL's holding are inconsequential. ONSL is small potatoes. It's properties as you know were all cast off from the large multinational oil companies through the British government's policy of "if you don't use it you lose it" as an attempt to revive drilling in the North Sea which was in decline after the North Sea reached peak oil production years ago. That is why Oilexco, Sterling, Antrim , all small Canadian junior oil and gas companies, came into being in the North Sea. They would acquire these cast off properties deemed too small economically to drill by the large multinationals to drill up and turn around declining oil production in the British section of the North Sea. If the British government through RBS tries to acquire ONSL this will send a message that Great Britain wants to nationalize its oil reserves in the North Sea (which are a rapidly declining resource) and the Canadian and other junior oil companies that the British government had attracted to the North Sea to revive declining oil production will get the message and leave. It will also send a message to the large multinational oil companies what is in store for them and they will look for easier places in the world to make a greater profit. In the end such a government policy would reverse all that the British government has acheived in terms of increasing North Sea oil and gas production over the last five years. I don't see RBS doing this or the British government through RBS.

Best Wishes; Scott