This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-27809841

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Premier Oil granted Catcher oil field development approval Premier Oil granted approval for Catcher development in North Sea
(about 2 hours later)
An oil and gas explorer has been given approval to develop a major North Sea field.An oil and gas explorer has been given approval to develop a major North Sea field.
Premier Oil will drill 22 wells at the Catcher field, 100 miles off the coast of Aberdeen.Premier Oil will drill 22 wells at the Catcher field, 100 miles off the coast of Aberdeen.
It is hoped the field could produce about 100m of barrels of oil. It is hoped the field could produce about 100m of barrels of oil, with first oil targeted for mid-2017.
Last month it was announced Subsea 7 had been awarded a £270m contract to build a 37-mile (59.9km) pipeline and associated facilities for the development. London-based Premier said the development had been facilitated by oil field tax incentives introduced by the UK government.
News of the approval comes after Subsea 7 was awarded a £270m contract to build a 37-mile (59.9km) pipeline and associated facilities for the development.
Premier Oil chief executive Simon Lockett welcomed the decision by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to give the project the green light.
He said: "Having discovered Catcher in 2010, we are extremely pleased to have brought the Catcher area through the development approval process.
"Once on-stream this project, which has been facilitated by the government's small field allowances, will underpin our growing cash flows."
'Excellent news'
Minister of State for Energy Michael Fallon said: "The Catcher area development shows that there continues to be an extraordinary level of interest in North Sea oil and gas, which is excellent news for industry and for the whole of the UK.
"The project represents over £1bn of investment and almost all of the subsea expertise and equipment needed for this development is being supplied by British companies right across the country."
Premier holds a 50% interest in Catcher, with the other stakeholders being Nautical (15%), Cairn Energy (15%) and Wintershall (20%)
Last month, Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy struck a $575m (£343m) loan deal with French bank BNP Paribas to help the firm develop two North Sea fields, including Catcher.