Lancaster discovery best in past 16 years

Hurricane Energy ’ s Greater Lancaster Area discovery is not as big as the giant Buzzard field but it eclipses all other finds in the UK North Sea in the past 16 years.

Buzzard, 65 miles northeast of Aberdeen, was operated by PanCanadian Petroleum (UK) when, in July 2001, news broke of it containing many hundreds of millions of barrels of oil.

It was the largest UK North Sea oil discovery for two decades.

Pan Canadian became EnCana through a £4.7billion takeover of the Alberta Energy Company, and estimates for the size of the Buzzard find increased soon after.

In 2004, EnCana sold its UK division to Canadian energy and chemicals company Nexen for £1.14billion.

Buzzard has been in production since early 2007. It fell into Far East hands four years ago, when China National Offshore Oil Corporation swooped to buy Nexen for £9.6billlion.

Currently the UK's highest-producing field and operated by Nexen Petroleum UK, Buzzard is estimated to have up to 1.5billion barrels of oil. Recoverable reserves are estimated at 850million barrels.

Other major finds of recent years include Catcher, which is due to start producing towards the end of this year and in 2014 was thought to contain 96million barrels of oil.

Premier Oil’s flagship Solan field, west of Shetland, achieved first oil last April. It is expected to produce 40million barrels of oil in total.

First oil from the Kraken field, a “cornerstone” of En-Quest’s long-term production portfolio and thought to contain about 140million barrels, is imminent.