OIL majors have shown confidence in the exploration potential of the frontier territory off the Hebrides and Shetland in spite of the prospect of a long period of low oil prices.

International giants applied successfully for the right to take the hunt for oil and gas into huge tracts of under-explored acreage in a licensing round industry leaders said could open up new areas of the United Kingdom Continental Shelf.

Their applications provided some reassurance about the ability of the UKCS to win investment amid fierce competition from other countries. Exploration budgets have been under serious pressure during the downturn in the oil and gas industry triggered by the crude price plunge, which started in 2014.

The awards raise the prospect of a resumption of drilling in the Rockall Basin west of the Hebrides, where only one small gas find has been made and the last well was sunk 11 years ago.

US supermajor ExxonMobil has been awarded a series of blocks that begins around 30 miles west of South Uist and extends 60 miles southwards.

The Herald had reported that the Oil and Gas Authority included Rockall Basin territory in its latest awards on Wednesday. It named recipients yesterday.

ExxonMobil will work on the blocks with Norwegian giant Statoil, which said it was very pleased to win frontier acreage that gave the company fresh options.

The majors’ applications for licences in the Rockall Basin reflect growing excitement about the potential of an area in which only 12 wells have been drilled, compared with 4,000 plus in the North Sea.

The Oil and Gas Authority tried to encourage firms to look again at the area by making the findings of fresh seismic surveys available.

Last month geologists at Aberdeen university said their analysis of seismic data suggested drilling completed in the Rockall Basin to date may have focused on the wrong areas. They identified the eastern edge of the Basin against the Outer Hebrides Shelf as an area of interest.

ExxonMobil and Statoil have made commitments to reprocess existing seismic data. Such work could help identify prospects worth drilling.

Statoil has also made commitments to drill three wells with BP in the East of Shetland area on licences awarded in the latest round. This was limited to what the OGA regards as under-explored areas.

A spokesman for Statoil said: “In this round we have secured both drill ready prospects and frontier acreage, which shows our commitment to the UK continental shelf and our belief that the UK remains an attractive place to explore.”

BP won seven licences, in its largest acreage award on the UKCS since the late 1990s.

The head of BP’s North Sea business, Mark Thomas, said: “The North Sea is a growth region for BP as we seek to double our production to 200,000 barrels a day by 2020.” It will drill up to six exploration wells with partners in 2017.

BP is developing the giant Clair Ridge and Schiehallion fields West of Shetland with Shell, which won two licences in what it dubbed a heartland area.

Industry body Oil & Gas UK said the 29th licensing round could open up new areas of the UKCS which have been under explored.

Seven companies won licences to explore in the Mid-North Sea high area off eastern Scotland and England, including large firms and smaller businesses.