Aberdeen based, Dana Petroleum has received an approval from the authorities in the UK to develop two oil fields in the North Sea.

Dana Petroleum will carry out £1billion development on nine wells in the Harris and Barra fields that are located around 100 miles east of Scotland. According to estimates, these wells might contain an oil reserve of 45 million barrels.

Dana chief executive Dr Marcus Richards said that the new project is the main focus for the company's growth strategy. Production from the fields is expected to start in 2015. He also said that the development has been made possible by the moves by the Treasury to support the development in the area.

"Unlocking the potential of these new fields is a significant milestone as we aim to double our production to 100,000 barrels a day by 2016," he said.

UK's Chancellor, George Osborne had announced several new tax breaks aimed at attracting more investments in North Sea oil and gas. He pointed out that the income from older fields will not have to pay full duty and this will make sure that the field is fully exploited.

The tax breaks is the latest in a series of steps taken by the government to boost investments following a decision to increase the supplementary charge on North Sea producers from 20 per cent to 32 per cent in 2011, which is severely criticized by the industry.