More oil and gas discovered west of Shetland

Oil company Dana Petroleum has discovered an oil and gas reserve off Shetland. The Aberdeen-based company is part of a consortium that has been drilling in the Tornado well 80 miles west of the isles.

Tests are being carried out to determine the overall size of the new field. The discovery is close to the Schiehallion field, which ships oil to the Sullom Voe terminal.

Faroe Petroleum, the company which plans to pipe gas from Glenlivet to Sullom by 2014, has also been involved in the Tornado exploration.

Dana chief executive Tom Cross said: “The discovery of hydrocarbons at Tornado is an important result as it lies in an area of the UK Continental Shelf where Dana and Faroe Petroleum have very strong positions as the key independents. We look forward to determining the ultimate size of this field.”

Meanwhile engineering company AMEC has been appointed by BP to test the potential for further development in the Clair oil and gas field in the North Sea.

The Clair field has been one of the largest undeveloped reserves on the UK Continental Shelf. The first stage of the development started up in February 2005 and accessed an estimated 250 million barrells of oil.

The next stage will target the Clair Ridge area of the field, which has been extensively appraised over the last three years.