The past, present and future of oil and gas exploration and production West of Shetland

The UK is currently importing hydrocarbons and petroleum products at levels not seen since the mid-1970s. While the country continues to advance its Energy Transition goals, hydrocarbons – particularly natural gas – are expected to remain a vital component of the UK's energy mix and as a chemical feedstock through 2050 and beyond. West of Shetland (WoS) holds the highest estimated undiscovered resource volume on the UK Continental Shelf, with an estimated 4.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent to be found. Despite this potential, the region presents significant technical challenges, particularly from a subsurface perspective, and lacks extensive pipeline infrastructure, which often results in challenging project economics. In 2022, the WoS region marked 50 years since the first exploration well was drilled. This contribution traces the basin's exploration history and provides a comprehensive overview of the current subsurface understanding. We argue that for WoS to play a meaningful role in supporting the UK's domestic oil and gas supply, rather than rely on imports to meet the country's needs, the region would benefit from being placed within a bespoke fiscal and economic regime – one that encourages exploration, accounts for the higher development costs and respects the increased geological risk.