Reporters Jeremy James, Jeanne La Chard, Desmond Wilcox, Harold Williamson

For the first time ever, an oil boom has come to an established British city. Aberdeen is proud to boast that it was a University town at the time England only had Oxford and Cambridge. One in four Aberdonians works in the fishing industry. Today there are new riches to be won from the sea - oil rigs are being towed from all over the world to take part in what is being called the greatest oil search ever. Oilmen promise Aberdeen the rewards of a boom town -new jobs, new investment and perhaps even the sort of bonanza that made Texas rich. Many Aberdonians welcome the prospectors with open arms but some are more cautious, especially trawler owners and local conservationists. Is there room for the new boom and the old life style both to survive?