Here to stay or gone in 30 years? Inside the fight over the future of the oil industry

The people who made their fortunes in the oil capital of Europe need a new plan.

For decades, Aberdeen, a port city on Scotland's northeast coast, has served as the commercial gateway to the North Sea, where powerful companies have navigated deep and dangerous waters to extract tens of billions of barrels of crude.

But the basin isn't what it used to be, even with oil back above $80 per barrel. Production has been on the decline since the turn of the century. Downturns caused by twin price shocks — one in 2015 and one triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic — are harrowing reminders of what happens when a boom turns bust.