North Sea Oil Development (1965–1995)

1. UK extends seabed rights for offshore drilling

   Apr 15, 1964Labels: Continental Shelf, United Kingdom

   • UK Legislation
   • Wikipedia

2. West Sole gas field discovered

   Jan 1, 1965Labels: West Sole, BP

   • West Sole
   • AAPG

3. Norway announces first offshore licensing round

   Apr 13, 1965Labels: Norway licensing, Norwegian government

   • Petroleum Museum
   • SODIR

4. First British offshore gas delivered to shore

   Mar 1, 1967Labels: West Sole, Easington terminal

   • West Sole

5. Ekofisk discovery launches Norwegian oil era

   Jan 1, 1969Labels: Ekofisk, Phillips

   • SODIR Factpages
   • Ekofisk

6. Forties field discovered in UK sector

   Oct 7, 1970Labels: Forties field, BP

   • Forties

7. Norway forms key petroleum institutions

   Jul 14, 1972Labels: Norwegian Petroleum, Statoil

   • NOD
   • Equinor

8. Statfjord discovery moves development northward

   Feb 19, 1974Labels: Statfjord, UK Norway

   • Petroleum Museum
   • Statfjord

9. First UK offshore crude oil production begins

   Jul 1, 1975Labels: Argyll field, United Kingdom

   • Argyll

10. Norpipe oil pipeline to Teesside opens

    Oct 21, 1975Labels: Norpipe, Teesside terminal

    • Petroleum Museum
    • Norpipe

11. Forties field officially inaugurated and ramps up

    Nov 3, 1975Labels: Forties field, UK production

    • Forties
    • BBC Scotland

12. UK creates BNOC through 1975 oil act

    Nov 12, 1975Labels: BNOC, Petroleum and

    • UK Parliament
    • UK Legislation

13. Brent field starts production

    Nov 11, 1976Labels: Brent field, United Kingdom

    • Brent

14. Norpipe gas pipeline to Emden becomes operational

    Sep 1, 1977Labels: Norpipe gas, Emden

    • Petroleum Museum
    • Norpipe

15. Norway separates Statoil revenues into SDFI

    Jul 1, 1984Labels: SDFI, Statoil

    • Petroleum Museum
    • Equinor

16. Piper Alpha disaster transforms offshore safety

    Jul 6, 1988Labels: Piper Alpha, offshore safety

    • Britannica
    • Maritime Exec

17. North Sea reaches mature, infrastructure-led development phase

    Jan 1, 1992Labels: Mature phase, infrastructure-led

    • Norpipe
    • North Sea oil

18. North Sea production enters late-20th-century high-output period

    Jan 1, 1995Labels: High-output period, North Sea

    • North Sea oil
    • Forties FPS