Wild West: the technology that's opening up the UK's new fossil fuel frontier

But beyond the northern tip of the British isles, in the deep and choppy waters to the west of the Shetland Islands, a new era of exploration and development  is underway that brings to mind the optimism and excitement of the early days of North Sea oil.

Although discoveries were made in the West of Shetland (WoS) area back in the 1970s, it’s only relatively recently that the industry has begun tapping into the region’s potential. Declining fortunes elsewhere in the North Sea have made these harder-to-reach reserves more appealing, while new data-gathering and production technologies, as well as lessons learned from harsh environments elsewhere on the planet have given industry the confidence to begin exploiting this new frontier on the edge of the UK continental shelf.

The ultimate potential is still unknown

Oonagh Werngren, Oil and Gas UK

The prize could be huge. ‘We think that the West of Shetland region represents about 17 per cent of UK’s remaining oil and gas resource base, and the ultimate potential is still unknown,’ said Oonagh Werngren, operations director of Oil and Gas UK.