How would Britain defend offshore oil installations?

Would earlier North Sea oil development require new Royal Navy bases or forces to protect offshore assets?

It would likely require patrol ships and underwater warning around the installations, though offshore extraction itself would be the first major technical hurdle.

Extracting oil beneath the sea is more complicated than working a land field. Additional funding could advance the work, but its timing would depend on technical breakthroughs. Defence would rely on the fleet and patrol ships stationed near the installations. Hydrophones are suggested as a possible means of warning of an approaching threat.