Hurricane Energy said it successfully drilled the first exploration well into granite rock beneath the Atlantic waters close to Britain. It said that the gusher at its Lancaster field in the West of Shetlands proved that oil could be produced from “fractured basement reservoirs”, describing it as a “game-changer” for the UK.
Robert Trice, the chief executive, said: “It’s a phenomenal flow rate. This is just the tip of the iceberg.”
The news led to shares in the unconventional North Sea oil explorer, which is backed by BP, soaring by nearly a quarter.
The company, which floated on AIM in February, said that the field held an estimated 250 million barrels of oil, more than ten times the typical size of a North Sea discovery.