Oil Industry History

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North Sea Oil was first discovered in Norwegian waters in 1966. Shortly after that the first Scottish fields were discovered. In 1970 the Forties field was discovered and five years later the first oil came ashore. Scotland now produces more oil than Kuwait.

In the mid seventies the UK was in dire financial trouble and it was oil that saved England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland from bankruptcy.

Having our own oil meant we were not dependant on OPEC who were forcing up the cost at the pumps and we could pay for the massive numbers unemployed across the UK at the time. Other problems such as the miners’ strikes caused financial pressure for the whole country that would have been far worse if not for the oil.

They said the North Sea would be dry by 1995. In 2008 it was estimated that there was over 30 Billion barrels left, which is more than we have taken out already. We have not yet looked at every part of our waters. New technology is allowing us to drill in deeper and deeper water and in the wild Atlantic waters off the west coast of Scotland. Scottish and other UK companies are world leaders in these new technologies. Similar technology also allows us to extract more oil from previously abandoned wells. Therefore the remaining oil reserves could be as much as 60 – 100 Billion barrels.

In 2008 Shell brought 4 new fields online and invested over 100 Million pounds into their North Sea operation. They do not throw their money into something that will not give them a return.

See also UK consumption and production charts.

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