5.27 Wytch Farm is located in Dorset, an oil field which comprises three separate oil reservoirs under Pool Harbour and Bay. The site, Europe’s largest onshore oilfield, was discovered in 1974 and has been developed by BP within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). From initial commercial production to the intervention from a considerable number of
energy companies, the development of the local industrial base has taken in the region of 30 years. Although production peaked at the BP field over a decade ago, it still produces in excess of 20,000 boe per day (15% of BP’s production in the UK).