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Crude Britannia: The Story of North Sea Oil

Andy Francis

Bill Lyons

Crude Britannia: The Story of North Sea Oil: Episode 2

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Episode 2

BBC Four - Crude Britannia: The Story of North Sea Oil, Episode 2

Boom turned to bust in the late 1980s and the industry was rocked a series of tragedies.

Series telling the story of North Sea oil and gas. The boom of the early 1980s turned to bust with the collapse of the global price of oil, as the industry was rocked by tragedies.

Three-part series combining archive footage and eye-witness accounts to tell the dramatic narrative of North Sea oil and gas from the 1960s to the present. It charts the decades when the country made the most of its North Sea windfall, with scarcely a thought about where it came from or of the men and women who brought it to us. Through the story of oil, the series offers a fresh perspective on British politics and society and a timely insight into the state of our economy today.

As the oil industry boomed in the early 1980s, workers up and down the country vied for jobs offshore. Under Margaret Thatcher, dozens of new platforms were built in the North Sea, bringing in millions of barrels of oil and billions of pounds of taxes to the Treasury. The economy was transformed as the fortunes of oil and banking soared, while Britain's traditional manufacturing industries declined. 

But before the decade was out the boom would turn to bust with the collapse of the global price of oil, and the industry would be rocked a succession of tragedies, culminating in the destruction of the Piper Alpha platform by fire and the deaths of 167 men.

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Series telling the story of North Sea oil and gas from the 1960s to the present

Series combining archive footage and eye-witness accounts to tell the story of North Sea oil and gas from the 1960s to the present, offering a fresh perspective on British politics and society

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Crude Britannia: The Story of North Sea Oil

Episode 2

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