Four billion extra barrels of oil in North Sea
The latest report from the Wood Group believes that up to four billion extra barrels of oil and gas could be extracted from the North Sea, with a potential value of £200 billion.
The report, written by former Wood Group chairman Sir Ian Wood and commissioned by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, has been welcomed by Oilandgaspeople.com. It calls for a radical overhaul of the industry, including:
- Establishing a new strategy to maximise oil and gas recovery.
- Sharing infrastructure.
- Forming a new regulatory body with additional powers and resources.
- Greater collaboration between producers.
- Improving asset stewardship.
Kevin Forbes, CEO of Oilandgaspeople.com, commented: “When you have someone of Sir Ian Wood’s standing, stating that a rapid intervention and realignment of how we do things in the North Sea could harvest an extra four billion barrels of oil and gas, it would be foolhardy not to listen.
“He has consulted widely and taken stock of how our international neighbours go about their business and I am encouraged by his recommendations. Collaboration has been relatively good in the UKCS but we can certainly do better in working together and sharing information and technologies for the greater good, and to the benefit of the UK balance sheet.
“Sir Ian suggests a stronger independent and better resourced regulator would have greater powers to encourage or even enforce collaboration, and I welcome a more hands-on approach if it will provide the returns he is forecasting from resources which would otherwise remain untapped.
“If industry has to bear the cost of this step-change in how the UK produces oil and gas, then it should be seen as long term investment which will benefit both operators, Government and the end-user in terms of best use of our natural resources, while strengthening our security of supply.”
Adapted from press release by Katie Woodward
Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/exploration/13112013/extra_oil_in_north_sea_88/
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