A specialist oil and gas focus group in the Western Isles has wound down, donating its remaining funds to the Lews Castle College.
Originally set up in the 1980s by a group of private businesses, the Western Isles Oil Group set about promoting these businesses and the islands to the oil industry with a view to expanding job opportunities in the islands.
The biggest part of the group Lewis Offshore Ltd, which included the Stornoway Port Authority, Stornoway Airport and Stornoway Trust, led the marketing efforts in both Scotland and Norway.
As a result of the group winding down, the remaining funds of £5,800 have been donated to the Lews Castle College in Stornoway – part of the University of the Highlands and Islands – to develop a new engineering module and improve the current course.
The group said it hoped the college will benefit from the donation and that a student will be able to use the group’s archives to chart its progress and record the part it played in the economy of the islands.