North Sea Oil Starts Flowing into Britain (1975) | Political History

On 18 June 1975, ITN's Giles Smith reported from the BP oil refinery on the Isle of Grain in Kent, where the first consignment of oil had arrived from the Argyll Field in the UK sector of the central North Sea. Labour's energy secretary Tony Benn boarded the tanker alongside his Conservative opposite number, Patrick Jenkin, to turn on the taps and start pumping North Sea oil ashore. For safety reasons, the stunt was a stunt and nothing more: it was deemed too dangerous to begin pumping the oil with so many people in the area. The socialist Benn, who had recently campaigned for Britain to leave the European Community, spoke to Smith about what North Sea oil meant to Britain. "This must be a day of celebration, a day of congratulation to the firms and the people who have brought this oil ashore from under the most terrifying and capricious waters in the world. It's an astonishing technical achievement... I would like to say to them on behalf of the British people: thank you very much indeed."

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