From Aberdeen (IF): The potential for offshore oil and gas discoveries in underexplored offshore areas to the west of Scotland is to be examined.

Locations to come under the spotlight include the Solway Firth, the Firth of Clyde, the North
Channel and the Sea of the Hebrides.

The Scottish government has announced it is to co-host a workshop with Heriot Watt University’s Institute of Petroleum Engineering to examine the potential for resources in these more remote waters.

Representatives of the industry will attend the autumn event, which will also discuss the requirement for new research to help stimulate exploration off the west coast.

Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said more activity in this area could create additional employment and further increase the longevity of the industry in the country.

Professor Dorrik Stow, head of HWU/IPE, is looking forward to being part of a collaboration with industry, universities and government to gain a better understanding of the prospects to the west of Scotland.

Potential
Professor John Howell, chair in geology and petroleum geology at Aberdeen University, added, “The offshore area to the west of Scotland includes several major basins with hydrocarbon potential.

“While over 3,000 exploration wells have been drilled in the North Sea and west of Shetland, only around 20 exploration wells have been drilled to the west of the Scottish mainland—with m any basins totally un explored.

“This provides significant future potential, which can only be appraised with detailed scientific study. This workshop is the first step along the path to unleash that potential.”