50 YEARS OF UK OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS

1989 marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of UK offshore oil and gas activities. Over this time the industry has spent 14 billion pounds, at current money values, on exploration and it has invested a further 50 billion pounds on development. Government revenues have benefitted by 65 billion pounds. By the end of 1988, 36 oil and 26 gas fields had been developed with a cumulative production of 9 billion barrels of oil and 23.5 trillion cubic feet of gas. Projections of future developments made by UKOOA (UK Offshore Operators' Association) suggest that over the next 25 years the industry is likely to drill in excess of 2000 exploration and appraisal wells and to develop between 100 and 300 new fields. It is estimated that from a combination of known reserves, known but not yet developed discoveries, and as yet undiscovered fields, the UK offshore industry will still be producing over one million barrels of oil and over 6000 million cubic feet of gas per day in the year 2014.