Equinor has hailed a major milestone for the North Sea oil and gas industry with first production from its giant Mariner field.
The flagship development east of Shetland has started up after a £6.4billion investment, one of the biggest cash injections for the industry in the last decade.
With up to three billion barrels in place it is one of the UK’s largest oilfields and the project is expected to continue producing through to 2050.
The Norwegian energy giant said Mariner will support more than 700 long-term jobs while contracts worth more than £1 billion have been awarded to UK suppliers since work began.