The new link should allow other, further-flung fields to be exploited, such as the Lagavulin oil prospect, 250km north of the Shetlands, where Chevron began exploratory drilling in October.
Another recommendation from the committee is that with many of the best sites in remote locations around northern and western Scotland and in the Orkneys and Shetlands, finance for grid connection needs ramping up.
But as Britain's hydrocarbon reserves shrink, and the government frets about attracting investment to extract those that remain, enticing firms to the waters west of the Shetlands will be key to easing the industry's decline.