"Lastly the NATs continually said that oil was a bonus to an independent Scotland and not the basis of independence conceding that the price would fluctuate."

I didn't ignore the main thrust of the thread though! It was addressed in the sentence copied above. You may feel Scottish independence is dependent on oil but the Nats never claimed that their plans for independence depended on oil so a falling oil price does not blow their arguments away. In fact the current price is still higher than it was for periods during their first term in office when they were trying to get the referendum organised in the first place. It was as low as $47 a barrel in 2009 during their first term and further back as low as just above $16 a barrel at the end of the 1990s. It fluctuates dramatically they know that! In fact the current $54 per barrel is still higher than it was at anytime between Feb 1991 and 2004. So yes the price of oil dictates how keen companies are to invest in North Sea and of course in fracking too. That is nothing new!