Britain is estimated to have substantial amounts of shale gas trapped in underground rocks and the government wants to exploit it to help offset declining North Sea oil and gas output. It said the shale gas industry could create 64,000 jobs and help economic growth.

"The UK continental shelf is in urgent need of fresh investment to boost exploration and drive activity, particularly for the supply chain," Oil and Gas UK chief executive Deirdre Michie said, going on to call for additional government efforts to encourage investment.

The governments of Argentina and the UK have agreed to work toward removal of restrictions on oil and gas work offshore the Falkland Islands.

The UK’s natural gas imports from Norway are forecast to increase up to 15% year on year this winter. In the months from October to March, the UK will likely import between 60-136 mcm per day of gas from Norway. At the high end of this range, imports would be up 18 mcm per day in the same period a year earlier. Imports of Dutch and Belgian gas are also projected to increase amid predictions that flows from the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) may fall by 4% this year to as low as 70 mcm per day.

Nearly 400,000 UK households left British Gas in the first six months of this year, as the company found its market share being taken by independent energy suppliers.

"We recognise that market conditions are currently very difficult but nevertheless we have a shared goal of making the basin as attractive as possible for exploration," Andy Samuel, chief executive of the OGA, said.

Britain is on track to meet its 2020 European renewable energy target and its commitment will not be affected by the country's vote to leave the EU, government officials said.

U.S. crude was down 23 cents at $46.37 a barrel at 0158 GMT. The contract fell 5 percent to end at $46.60 on Tuesday as U.S. investors digested news of an OPEC increase in production after the July 4 holiday on Monday closed trading. Brent futures were down 18 cents at $47.78. On Tuesday they settled down 4.3 percent at $47.96 a barrel.

In the week ending Monday, the average UK pump price of unleaded gasoline (ULSP) was 111.65p/liter, up 0.21 p/liter week on week. The price of diesel (ULSD) was 112.86 p/liter, up 0.30 p/liter on the week.

WHILE politicians run around like headless chickens, the Bank of England, at least, is trying to stabilise the British economy. Within hours of the announcement of the EU referendum result, Mark Carney, the bank’s governor, reassured investors that the economy was sound. And on July 5th, through a piece of arcane but important financial regulation, the bank took the first real step to promote financial stability when it announced the relaxation of capital requirements for banks, in a bid to stave off a credit crunch.