Petrodollars Turn Aberdeen Into Independence Battleground

In the Fittie Bar next to Aberdeen’s industrial harbor, where North Sea oil workers come to drink between stints offshore, the debate over Scottish independence is raging.

Amid rounds of whisky and beer, engineer Paul Murray lectures the bar on how Scotland can go it alone with an economy underpinned by the energy resources that pay his salary. Sean Mizen, an Englishman who works on the oil rigs, said the U.K. is better off by sticking together.