100 years of oil predicted after new licensing round west of Scotland

New plans have been revealed to launch a joint licensing round between the Faroe Islands and the UK North Sea.

The game-changing collaboration would see blocks come available for exploration in waters on the UK Atlantic Margin, between west of Shetland and the Faroes.

It would mean the fifth Faroese Licensing Round would take place alongside the UK’s 32nd round which is due to begin in June and end in November.

Commenting on the news, the Faroes Oil Industry Group said it will create a “whole new expanded oil province which subsumes and supersedes West of Shetland”.

The plans come after increased interest from operators such as BP, Shell, Total and Equinor in the west of Shetland region.

They were proposed to the Faroese Parliament by Poul Michelsen,Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The Faroese government gave an estimate of between 100million and 10billion barrels of potential recoverable oil being present on the Faroese Continental Shelf. This confirms a significant development for the future of the industry.

As part of the initiative, the government intends to remove a two percent royalty provision for licensees.