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2018-03-21 12:25:00

BRITAIN'S OIL +9%

BRITAIN'S OIL +9%

PLATTS- UK oil production is expected to rise by 9% this year, to nearly 1.1 million b/d, while gas output will remain flat and the longer term looks less positive, industry group Oil & Gas UK said Tuesday.

Higher oil output will be supported by 12 projects that came on stream last year, among them the BP-led revamp of the Schiehallion field, and two large projects due on stream this year: the Clair Ridge expansion project, led by BP, and the start of production from Statoil's Mariner heavy oil field, Oil & Gas UK said in its annual "Business Outlook" report.

UK oil output had been expected to rise for a third year in a row last year, but instead dropped by around 1% due to the shutdown of the Forties pipeline in December, caused by a hairline crack.

Also positive for the sector this year will be the expected approval of 12-16 large oil and projects, some being new field developments and others being extensions to existing assets, compared with just two approvals in each of the last two years, the report said.

With a total investment price tag of over GBP5 billion ($7.0 billion), it said these projects could yield 450 million barrels of oil equivalent, including both gas and liquids.

"This industry is adapting effectively to a very demanding business environment and is now in a more competitive position as a result," Oil & Gas UK chief executive Deirdre Michie said. "The sector continues to show remarkable resilience."

However, the report highlighted several weaknesses, noting that the reserves associated with the 12-16 projects earmarked for approval this year amounted to less than a year of current UK production.

Overall output would continue climbing next year, with gas production bolstered by the Culzean gas project, which is due on stream next year

DRILLING LEVELS A CONCERN

However, "the production outlook for the basin is much more uncertain post-2019," the report said, forecasting a return to production decline in the early 2020s.

It highlighted a lack of new projects in recent years and said a lack of development drilling was a "serious concern" and "worrying trend for the future health of the basin."

Just 71 development wells were initiated last year, amounting to a 45% drop in two years, the report said, noting a historically strong link between production rates and development drilling.

The report forecast that capital expenditure could rise this year for the first time in four years, to around GBP5.5 billion-6.0 billion, but also warned that the UK industry's supply chain remained under stress and had yet to benefit from the industry upturn, following a string of insolvencies in 2016-17.

"While a contraction in the market is somewhat inevitable following such a sharp downturn, there is a real risk that core capabilities and skills are being lost to other industries that cannot be replaced if activity picks up. If this trend continues, it may cause long-term structural damage to the UK supply chain and its ability to service both domestic and international markets," the report said.

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Earlier:

 W.Europe
2018, March, 16, 10:10:00

RUSSIAN GAS FOR BRITAIN ANEW

BLOOMBERG - While Europe as a whole gets more than a third of its gas from Russia, that share is lower in the U.K., which receives the bulk of its fuel from North Sea fields and Norway. Still, Moscow-based Gazprom PJSC was the second-biggest supplier to major industrial consumers in the U.K. last year, according to Britain’s energy regulator Ofgem.

 

 W.Europe
2018, March, 16, 10:05:00

RUSSIAN GAS FOR BRITAIN AGAIN

FT - of the six LNG tankers that have made deliveries into the UK so far in 2018 three have carried cargoes originally from Russia, leading to questions about whether Moscow was gaining a foothold in the UK gas market after starting up the Yamal LNG facility in Siberia late last year.

 

 W.Europe
2018, March, 16, 10:00:00

RUSSIAN GAS FOR BRITAIN OVER

REUTERS - So far this year, two Yamal cargoes unloaded at British terminals for domestic consumption, accounting for about a third of Britain’s 2018 LNG imports after typical supplier Qatar pre-sold the bulk of its winter output to Asia last year.

 

 W.Europe
2018, March, 14, 11:30:00

RUSSIAN GAS FOR BRITAIN

PLATTS - The Russia-UK poisoning row threatens to put renewed strain on the two countries' deep-seated energy ties, illustrated by some of the first ever LNG shipments from Russia's vast new Yamal LNG facility now arriving in the UK.

 

 W.Europe
2018, March, 4, 10:55:00

BRITAIN'S NUCLEAR: 50%

WNN - An experienced nuclear country like the UK should aim to have nuclear accounting for around 50% of its electricity mix, according to World Nuclear Association Director General Agneta Rising.

 

 W.Europe
2018, January, 4, 12:10:00

BRITAIN NEED INVESTMENT

REUTERS - British trade minister Liam Fox said on Wednesday that London would continue to welcome foreign investment, after a U.S. panel rejected a Chinese acquisition of a U.S. money transfer company on national security concerns.

 

 W.Europe
2017, December, 27, 12:10:00

BRITAIN'S PRIMARY DETERMINANT

IMF - Productivity growth will be the primary determinant of UK living standards in the long run.

 

 

 

Tags: BRITAIN, OIL, PRODUCTION