Shetland Islands Council loses out over BP Schiehallion decision

Deepsea Aberdeen will drill wells across the Schiehallion and Loyal fields

Shetland Islands Council will lose out on millions of pounds of income after BP decided to bypass the Sullom Voe terminal when the Schiehallion oilfield comes back on line.

Schiehallion has been shut down for refurbishment since 2013.

It lies 110 miles west of Shetland and is estimated to still contain 450m barrels of oil.

The oil will be taken directly from the field to Rotterdam when production re-starts at the end of next year.

Before the shutdown, smaller tankers shuttled the oil into the council's harbour at Sullom Voe, before a larger vessel transferred it on to be refined.

Shetland Islands Council gains income from each vessel that visits the harbour.

BP said the move was now necessary to lower production costs and maximise economic recovery.

Vessels visiting the harbour gain the council income