Summary Scots go to the polls on September 18 to decide whether to end their union with the rest of Britain.
LONDON (AFP) - The chief executive of Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell on Wednesday dealt a blow to the campaign for Scottish independence by saying he would like it to remain part of the UK.
Speaking at the company s annual reception in London, Ben van Beurden explained that a vote for independence in the September referendum would introduce greater uncertainty into the North Sea oil industry, a crucial source of income for Scotland and Shell.
For similar reasons, he also said that he wanted Britons to vote to stay in the European Union during a possible referendum in 2017.
"We re used to operating in uncertain political and economic environments. But, given a choice, we want to know as accurately as possible what investment conditions will look like 10 or 20 years from now," he explained.
"That s the chief reason we re in favour of the UK maintaining its long-established place at the heart of the European Union: it provides greater investment stability and certainty.
"It s for similar reasons that we d like to see Scotland remain part of the United Kingdom," he added.
"Shell has a long history of involvement in the North Sea -- and therefore in Scotland -- and we continue to invest more than a billion pounds ($1.67 billion, 1.21 billion euros) there every year."
Scots go to the polls on September 18 to decide whether to end their 300-year union with the rest of Britain.
Scotland s First Minister Alex Salmond, who heads the pro-independence Scottish National Party, on Tuesday, insisted that his country could become an economic powerhouse despite all three of Britain s three main political parties saying they will not let an independent Scotland retain the pound.
