► Untapped oil and gas off Western Isles worth trillions, says report
The first licences to explore and drill for oil and gas in the West of Hebrides sea region have been awarded.
Austrian firm OMV is investing in the region and won two sets of nine blocks in deep
water north west of Lewis, the nearest being some 50 miles off the coast. Norwegian
government-
Oonagh Werngren, operations director of offshore industry body Oil and Gas UK highlighted the “positive” move of companies looking “seriously at frontier areas, stepping away from the known basins and into deeper water.”
He added: “The industry is facing a number of major challenges, including the lowest level of exploration for some time and rising costs in the sector.
“It is extremely important to ensure the award of these licenses translates into the drilling of more successful wells on the UK Continental Shelf and we need to ensure the pipeline of new developments continues to flow from the basin.
The licences were awarded under the UK Government’s 28th round of selling seabed rights.
In 2012, a licence for a large territory south west of Barra -
► Untapped oil and gas off Western Isles worth trillions, says report
OMV Aktiengesellschaft
Oil company secures licence to drill West of Hebrides 7/11/14