UKCS: still got it at 50
Despite low oil prices and extensive job losses, UK North Sea production isn't going into meltdown
Anyone hoping UK North Sea oil production would crumble in the face of low crude prices - and help rebalance the lopsided global oil market - is out of luck. Last year, despite painfully low oil prices, hydrocarbons output from the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) managed its first increase in over 15 years. And growth could continue, as new fields enter production. In the first 10 months of 2015, liquids output rose by nearly 11%, compared with the same period of 2014. Natural gas production was up by around 6% on the year. Overall, full-year production will be 7-8% higher than in 2014, says Oil & Gas UK, a trade association of upstream operators. The North Sea is a high-cost basin, largely
Also in this section
5 March 2026
Gas is a central pillar of Colombia’s energy system, but declining production poses a significant challenge, and LNG will be increasingly needed as a stopgap. A recent major offshore gas discovery offers hope, but policy improvements are also required, Camilo Morales, secretary general of Naturgas, the Colombian gas association, tells Petroleum Economist
4 March 2026
The continent’s inventories were already depleted before conflict erupted in the Middle East, causing prices to spike ahead of the crucial summer refilling season
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
