Oldest oilfield back in business

The Ardmore field will utilise new technology

The first ever North Sea oilfield is to go back into production after being given the green light by the government.

The Department of Trade and Industry has given consent to reopen the former Argyll field, creating 100 new jobs.

The Argyll Field produced Britain's first North Sea oil in 1975, three months ahead of BP's Forties Field.

But the oilfield and the nearby Duncan and Innes fields were then closed down 10 years ago because they were no longer considered economically viable.

Ken McHattie: Certain of finding oil

The decision was taken even though more than half of their oil reserves remained untapped.

New technology has now reduced production costs and will enable oil to start flowing again.

The three old fields are to be redeveloped using the latest techniques in horizontal drilling.

These allow a single rig to send out boreholes in many directions, using sophisticated computer-driven drill bits that can go around difficult geological structures to find even the smallest oil pockets.

The technology to send out many lateral holes from the one platform means that wells once considered too expensive to be tapped on their own can be made economic.

'Symbolically important'

Some drilling platforms will now sink holes that extend many kilometres out from their anchored position on the sea bed.

The Aberdeen-based oil company, Tuscan Energy, and its partner, Acorn, were awarded government licences to exploit the old fields in January.

Ken McHattie, of Tuscan Energy, said: "In the original development of the field the wells were all drilled vertically which meant they went straight through the reservoir.

Much of the oil reserves were untapped

"The wells that we will drill will be high angle and will access the reservoir horizontally, which will allow us to be more certain of finding and of extracting as much of it as we can."

Exploration of the fields has proved the viability of the plan and the Department of Trade and Industry has given the go-ahead.

An estimated 21m barrels should be pumped out of what will now be called the Ardmore field.

Energy Minister Brian Wilson said: "It's even more important in the message it sends out about the remaining potential in the North Sea and particularly what can be done through the use of new technology by innovative companies to extend the life of the North Sea."

Other oil companies are expected to be watching closely to see if such technology can help them keep their fields in production.