Kingsford Primary School - Aberdeen and The North Sea

Aberdeen and The North Sea

Aberdeen had been a major maritime centre throughout the 19th century, when a group of local entrepreneurs purchased an ageing paddle tug and launched it as the first steam-powered trawler. From small beginnings the steam trawling industry expanded and by 1933 Aberdeen was Scotland's top fishing port, employing nearly 3,000 men with 300 vessels sailing from its harbour. By the time oil was coming on stream, much of the massive trawling fleet had relocated to Peterhead. Although an early morning visit to the fish market will verify that Aberdeen still brings in substantial catches, the tugs, safety vessels and supply ships for the huge offshore rigs which pack the harbour far outnumber the trawlers.

Geologists had speculated about the existence of oil and gas in the North Sea since the middle of the 20th century, but tapping its deep and inhospitable waters was another story. However, with the Middle Eastern oil sheiks becoming more aware of the political and economic power of their oil reserves and government threats of rationing, the industry began to consider the North Sea as a viable source of oil. Exploration commenced in the 1960s and the first major find in the British sector was in November 1970 in the Forties field, 110 miles east of Aberdeen.

By late 1975, after years of intense construction, the hundreds of miles of pipes, massive oilshore rigs, supply ships, helicopters and an army of oil workers were finally in place. In Aberdeen, at BP's (British Petroleum) headquarters, the Queen pressed the button that would set the whole thing moving. Oil flowed from the rig directly to the refinery at far-away Grangemouth. While many ports suffered decline, Aberdeen remains busy due to oil trade as the influx of people connected with the industry, and a subsequent rise in property prices has brought prosperity to the area.

The human cost of oil prosperity was brutally brought home on the night of 6 July 1988. A huge fire lit the sky as the Piper Alpha oil platform, 120 miles (193 km), exploded. Helicopters flew all night bringing the dead and injured to Aberdeen. In all 167 died; many of the survivors live with the scars of that night and the horrific memories of escaping the burning rig. A memorial to the dead stands in Hazlehead Park. The subsequent inquiry revealed that safety regulations had been ignored. The oil industry learned a bitter lesson, and the rigs are now safer places to work. The industry still supports about 47,000 jobs locally and known reserves are such that oil will continue to flow well into the 21st century.