Energy giant Total starts production on west of Shetland gas fields
Around 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent will be produced daily by the Laggan and Tormore fields.
Energy giant Total has started production on two new gas fields west of Shetland.
Around 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent will be produced daily by the Laggan and Tormore fields.
It will be pumped through the new Shetland Gas Terminal before being sent to the mainland through Sullom Voe.
The terminal was the largest building project in the UK since the London Olympics and forms part of a £3.5bn investment by Total.
Work on the £800m terminal started in 2010 but it was hit by a series of delays which developer Petrofac blamed on bad weather and industrial action.
The west of Shetland region contains an estimated fifth of the UK's remaining oil and gas reserves and the Laggan-Tomore development is set to significantly boost Total's North Sea output.
Total president of exploration and production, Arnaud Breuillac, said; "Laggan-Tormore is a key component of our production growth in 2016 and beyond.
"The innovative subsea-to-shore development concept, the first of its kind in the United Kingdom, has no offshore surface infrastructure and benefits from both improved safety performance and lower cost.
"By opening up this new production hub in the deep offshore waters of the west of Shetland, Total is also boosting the UK’s production capacity and Europe’s energy security.”