'Exceptional' oil find made in North Sea by EnCore

EnCore Oil's shares rose sharply on news of the find

An oil find in the North Sea off Aberdeen has the potential to be one of the biggest discoveries of recent years, it has been claimed.

EnCore Oil said the Catcher prospect is thought to hold up to 300 million barrels of oil, and further investigations could add to this.

It would make Catcher among the largest discoveries since the billion barrel Buzzard reservoir off Aberdeen in 2001.

EnCore - whose shares rose sharply - said the find was "exceptional".

Chief executive Alan Booth said: "Initial analysis suggests a series of discoveries that would form one of the larger North Sea oil accumulations of recent years."

Malcolm Webb, chief executive of industry body Oil and Gas UK, said: "EnCore Oil's oil discovery could be hugely significant when compared with the average UK North Sea find which, over the last 10 years, has been around 20 million barrels of oil and gas.

"Given that new exploration is the lifeblood of an industry which has a central role in the UK's energy supply, it is very encouraging that the tally of new finds on the UK continental shelf has been added to."

Catcher is 110 miles east of Aberdeen.