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The UK North Sea: a history of oil and gas

View ORCID ProfileLucy King
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 52, 19-31, 30 October 2020, https://doi.org/10.1144/M52-2019-22
Lucy King
Wood Mackenzie, Edinburgh, UK
Roles: [Conceptualization (Lead)], [Data curation (Lead)], [Formal analysis (Lead)], [Funding acquisition (Supporting)], [Investigation (Lead)], [Methodology (Lead)], [Project administration (Supporting)], [Resources (Supporting)], [Software (Supporting)], [Supervision (Supporting)], [Validation (Supporting)], [Visualization (Lead)], [Writing - Original Draft (Lead)], [Writing - Review & Editing (Supporting)]
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Abstract

With a history spanning over 50 years, the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) is one of the most explored and mature basins in the world. Over 44 Bbbl of reserves have been recovered from over 450 fields across the UKCS, enabled by continuous improvement in seismic, drilling and development technologies. Starting in 1965 with BP's West Sole discovery in the Southern Gas Basin, every sector of the UKCS has since opened up. But it is not just the discoveries that have characterized this ultra-mature region. It has weathered a turbulent history of oil prices, fiscal changes, an ever-changing corporate environment and the industry's worst offshore disaster, which serves as a reminder of the uncompromising conditions of the North Sea.

Production peaked at the turn of the millennium, and it is only since 2013 that there has been a partial reversal of the declining trend. With discoveries getting scarcer and smaller, maintaining the trend will not be easy, especially with the number of companies exiting the region for more prospective global opportunities on the rise. However, with an estimated 10–20 Bbbl yet to find in the basin, there is still a lot to play for in the coming years.

  • © 2020 Wood Mackenzie Limited. Wood Mackenzie is a Verisk business. Published by The Geological Society of London. All rights reserved
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Geological Society, London, Memoirs: 52 (1)
Geological Society, London, Memoirs
Volume 52
2020
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The UK North Sea: a history of oil and gas

Lucy King
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 52, 19-31, 30 October 2020, https://doi.org/10.1144/M52-2019-22
Lucy King
Wood Mackenzie, Edinburgh, UK
Roles: [Conceptualization (Lead)], [Data curation (Lead)], [Formal analysis (Lead)], [Funding acquisition (Supporting)], [Investigation (Lead)], [Methodology (Lead)], [Project administration (Supporting)], [Resources (Supporting)], [Software (Supporting)], [Supervision (Supporting)], [Validation (Supporting)], [Visualization (Lead)], [Writing - Original Draft (Lead)], [Writing - Review & Editing (Supporting)]
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The UK North Sea: a history of oil and gas

Lucy King
Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 52, 19-31, 30 October 2020, https://doi.org/10.1144/M52-2019-22
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  • Article
    • Abstract
    • The 1960s: the beginning of an era
    • Dividing the North Sea
    • The gas boom
    • Where is the oil?
    • The 1970s: discovery of a UK giant
    • Land ahoy for UK's first oil
    • Oil Taxation Act 1975 and state participation
    • Emergence of the Central North Sea high-pressure–high-temperature (HPHT) play
    • The 1980s: spend, develop, spend, develop
    • Privatization
    • Piper Alpha
    • The 1990s: conquering the Wild West
    • Brent Spar
    • Peak production
    • The 2000s: a decade of decline
    • Fiscal changes galore
    • The 2010s: a time for change and a new regulatory body
    • Goodbye North Americans, hello private equity
    • What does the future hold?
    • Acknowledgements
    • Funding
    • Author contributions
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
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