The Caister Murdoch System (CMS) was originally conceived by Conoco (U.K.) Ltd. and Total Oil Marine plc to develop the Murdock and Caister gas fields. Caister had been discovered by Total in Block 44/23 in January 1968 in Triassic Bunter Sands. However, its remote location near the UK / Netherlands median line meant there was no infrastructure to support the export of gas. The Caister Carboniferous gas field was discovered by Total in Block 44/23 in February 1985 and the Murdoch Carboniferous field by Conoco in Block 44/22 in August 1985. The discovery by Shell Oil of the Schooner Carboniferous gas field in Block 44/26 in December 1986 made the development of CMS viable.
