Oil, Gas, Pipelines and Gas Storage

Oil and gas exploration and exploitation has been a major activity in Scottish offshore waters since the late 1960s. Most oil and gas fields on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS) are located in the North Sea. Only the Beatrice Field in the Moray Firth is close to shore and within the 12 nautical mile Territorial Sea limit. The remainder are much further offshore, within the Exclusive Economic Zone. Since 1977 there has also been activity to the area west of Shetland following the discovery of the Clair Field.

There is extensive infrastructure associated with these oil and gas developments including seabed and platform-mounted production facilities and networks of pipelines bringing oil and gas ashore for processing. The shore-side reception facilities include the gas terminal at St Fergus in Aberdeenshire and the Sullom Voe oil terminal in Shetland, the largest oil terminal in Europe. There are three interconnector pipelines in the south west which take gas across the Irish Sea. There is no gas storage activity in Scottish waters currently.