Across the world, people are reacting to the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Buckingham Palace confirmed on Thursday evening that she had passed away at the age of 96, surrounded by members of the royal family at Balmoral Castle.
The Queen sat on the British throne for 70 years, and was monarch during some of the biggest events in UK history, including the discovery of oil in the North Sea.
Following her death, Energy Voice has pulled together a number of photos, documenting her relationship with the oil and gas industry.
Forties
Among Her Majesty’s most memorable moments with the North Sea sector was her ceremonially turning on the taps at the Forties field, then operated by BP, in 1975.
The Queen inaugurated the flow of oil by pushing a gold-plated button in BP’s control centre at Dyce near Aberdeen.
© PA Archive/PA ImagesPrime Minister Harold Wilson also attended with the Scottish Secretary and other senior cabinet colleagues.
Marking the 50th anniversary of Forties being discovered, in 2020, former BP geologist David Jenkins recalled to Energy Voice: “We had a marquee outside the Dyce office, the Queen came in her Bentley!”
© Supplied by DCTPiper Alpha
In 1988 the monarch met with many of the crew of Piper Alpha, following the North Sea disaster earlier that year.
Twenty were commemorated, with seven receiving the George Medal – Britain’s highest civilian award – two of them after giving up their lives in the fight to save others from the blazing wreckage.
Eight were awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal and five the Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct – three posthumously.
The George Medals went to the fast rescue boat crews of the former trawler Silver Pit and the supply vessel Sandhaven, who surged into action just minutes after the first explosion.
Sullom Voe
On May 9, 1981, the Queen visited Shetland to cut the ribbon on the huge Sullom Voe oil terminal.
Construction work had been ongoing at the facility for a number of years, and its completion was a momentous occasion for the North Sea.
Her Majesty was joined in Shetland by Prince Phillip, and the King of Norway, but the day was overshadowed by a dark incident.
With the Troubles raging in Northern Ireland, the IRA plotted an assassination attempt, and was able to plant a bomb at the oil terminal.
It exploded in a power station at the facility at around noon, less than 500 yards away from where the Queen was stood listening to the national anthem.
Nobody was injured in the blast.
BP, which operated the site at the time, was blamed by MI5 for the security lapse that allowed a worker at the terminal to plant the bomb.
To this day, Sullom Voe remains an essential part of the North Sea oil and gas industry and a large employer on the island.