OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGIES & MARKETS
consistently through the past decade . One reason is the maturity
of the basin has limited the investment opportunities under con-
sideration. Additionally, operators and investors have been con-
cerned about the level of political and public support for offshore
exploration. Only 80 million BOE of new UKCS resources were
approved for development in 2021, of which 35 million BOE were
for gas fields. Developing these reserves will take approximately
$975 million (£750 million) of new capital investment from opera-
tors, according to OEUK.

“We know the basin itself is in decline, and we need to actively
manage this by investing in new projects, as well as existing ones.

If we don’t, we’ll be even more reliant on other countries – up to
around 80% of our gas and around 70% of our oil (by the 2030s).

That’s a heavy exposure,” Ms Michie said.

With 10 new fields set to start up in 2022 and early 2023, OEUK
expects sufficient production to come on stream to maintain out-
put in line with 2021 . Combined with the fields that started pro-
duction in late 2021, this will result in approximately 450 million
1,80 1,800 0
1,600 0
1,60 ToToTotatatal l Approved
Appr oved New Re
Reserves serves (boe
(boe)) New reserves on the UKCS are expected to reach its highest
level this year since 2018. With the UK government pushing
to lessen its reliance on imported oil and gas, short-term
production in the region could increase. Source: NSTA,
Offshore Energies UK
1,400 0
1,40 1,200 0
1,20 1,000 0
1,00 8000
80 6000
60 4000
40 2000
20 0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022E
2022 E
BOE in new reserves (split roughly 50/50 between oil and gas) and
peak production rates of around 250,000 BOED. This would offset
declining production from existing assets, according to OEUK.

Further, the group is forecasting a 10% increase in exploration
and development drilling on the UKCS this year compared with
last year , as well as a 5% increase in UKCS oil and gas produc-
tion over the next two years. The rise in production is attributed
to operators accelerating smaller work scopes and launching
brownfield infill drilling campaigns to extend the productive life
of mature assets.

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