The field is the largest oilfield on the UK Continental Shelf with an estimated 8 billion barrels of oil-in-place, according to the BP Plc's website.

[1] The Clair reservoir was discovered in 1977, with exploration well #206/8-1a penetrating a 568-metre (1,864 ft) oil column in a thick sequence of Devonian to Carboniferous continental sandstone.

This activity demonstrated that the structure extended to an area of some 400 square kilometres (150 sq mi) with static oil-in-place, although it failed to confirm the presence of economically recoverable reserves.

The 1996 well test results set the scope for the 1997 drilling programme and triggered interest in a first phase of development.

A development plan was approved in 2001, representing an investment of £650m by BP and its four partners in the project – ConocoPhilips, Chevron, Enterprise, and Amerada Hess.

They proposed a single steel jacket with an integrated topsides deck with processing facilities, accommodation and a separate modular drilling rig.

The accommodation contract involves the fabrication of the living quarters and utility building which have a weight of 1000 tonnes.

[3] The UK government approved the £4.5billion Clair Ridge development in October 2011[5] and production is scheduled to begin in 2016 and continue until 2050.

Subsea 7 fabricated and installed the pipelines,[8][9] Alphastrut designed and supplied a weight-saving aluminium raised access flooring and ceiling cable containment system,[10][11] Gordon Engineering designed and manufactured the helicopter refuelling system[12] and Bifab fabricated the flare boom.

[13] External blast walls, fire walls and blast rated HVAC ductwork system were designed and fabricated by MTE (Mech-Tool Engineering Limited) [14] In June 2013, the Clair Ridge platform jackets left Kværner's Verdal Yard in Norway[15] and they were successfully installed in August 2013.

[17] In March 2013 BP announced that the partnership will begin a two-year appraisal program to explore a third phase of Clair field development.

[18] A contract was awarded to Aker Solutions in November 2018 for engineering services associated with this project which is now known as Clair South.