Shares of U.K.-listed Hurricane Energy gushed higher Monday after the firm said it had found the "largest undeveloped (oil) discovery on the U.K. continental shelf."

Hurricane Energy said in a market release Monday that the firm has located a kilometer-deep oil column which is believed to connect to an existing field.

The discovery is near the Shetland Islands, off the north coast of Scotland.

"This is a highly significant moment for Hurricane and I am delighted that the Halifax Well results support the Company's view that its substantial Lancaster discovery has been extended to include the Halifax license.

"We believe that the GLA (Greater Lancaster Area) is a single hydrocarbon accumulation, making it the largest undeveloped discovery on the U.K. Continental Shelf," said Hurricane Chief Executive Robert Trice.

According to local media, Hurricane needs to raise about $400 million to develop the project and aims to start producing oil from the field in 2019.

The U.K. listed firm's share price rose 6 percent following the announcement.

The North Sea oil industry has been hit hard by the collapse in oil prices since 2014 which resulted in significant job losses.