Fifty years ago, on 7th October 1970, BP announced the discovery of the Forties Field in 350 feet of water in the North Sea, 110 miles east of Peterhead. It was a discovery that would lead to momentous changes to UK energy supplies, open up a whole new industry, assist the nation to slowly wean itself off environmentally damaging coal and provide the underpinning needed to reshape the UK economy. On that date I had just arrived in the US to work on the other major discovery that BP had made, in Prudhoe Bay in Alaska.

Both discoveries were transformational for BP, which had been wholly dependent on Middle East reserves. 50 years on, with both Alaska and the North Sea well into their decline years and renewables beginning to take over from oil and gas as new technologies emerge, BP and other majors who have done so much for the North Sea are having to reinvent themselves.

The discoveries at Prudhoe bay and in the North Sea enabled young engineers such as myself to work on cutting edge technologies. It is hard, today, to remember that Forties was discovered just 15 months after the first moon landing and new engineering challenges, now commonplace, were being cracked. It was also a period when new commercial opportunities were emerging for risk-takers. Forties was developed against the backdrop of miners’ strikes, Arab oil embargoes, and a three-day working week whilst also using technologies which were considered state-of-the-art.

At the end of 1971 I returned to the UK to act as Project Co-ordinator on the Forties Field Development team. This was a privilege as it enabled me at the age of 28 to participate first-hand in a project which was to have such a profound impact on the UK. The North Sea oil and gas business was beginning to open-up to new companies and ideas.

I left BP in 1974 to form my first oil company. Although we had to compete against the short-lived creation of a British National Oil Corporation it was an exciting time. The period from 1970 to 1985, saw extraordinary growth in the number of oil and gas companies, big and small, operating in the North Sea and in the number of discoveries made and developed.

This was the boom time for exploration, generating massive wealth for the UK economy. Many of us trailblazers in the independent sector had come from large oil companies and felt that we had a major part to play in contributing to that growth. For the next 15 years, up to the turn of the millennium, UK oil production averaged a little over 2 million barrels daily and independents such as Monument Oil and Gas, LASMO and Enterprise Oil more than played their part.

Whilst the area west of Shetland still holds significant potential for larger companies, today we are firmly in the decline phase of the North Sea where fields and new finds are getting smaller and less relevant to the majors who have to refocus on their core business. But much value remains to be harvested. The UK has been in transition from coal to the ultimate target of a carbon free world for years and the energy provided by North Sea production has been a pivotal part of that transition.

The technologies that have been developed to bring the oil and gas ashore amid tough conditions will form the bedrock for offshore renewable technologies. These need investments of enormous scale which can only be provided by majors, and which they will have to divert from non-core legacy assets. But during this phase, oil and gas will still be needed. The environmental impact of producing North Sea gas is less than half that of imported LNG. By managing indigenous reserves efficiently, we can help reduce the UK’s carbon footprint while making a significant contribution to the economy.

To achieve the holy grail of zero carbon and optimum recovery of remaining North Sea reserves will require partnership between the larger companies, as they redirect their capital and refocus their strategies, and the independents, such as Serica Energy, who have the skills, experience and low cost base to provide the investment and commitment required to optimise recoveries efficiently, safely and environmentally sensitively. 50 years after the discovery of Forties there is much to play for in the North Sea and the legacy of the find will continue to play its part in the UK’s fortunes.

Tony Craven Walker is executive chairman of North Sea-focused Serica Energy.