The storm nears in the North Sea
UK and Norwegian oil output has defied gravity for the past year, but the slowdown will become plain in 2016
OIL OUTPUT from the UK and Norway has been hanging on in recent months, in spite of the seeming incompatibility of high costs and low oil prices. Both countries actually managed modest rises last year, as projects sanctioned before the slump in crude prices began to deliver oil. But a repeat of that levitation trick in 2016 seems unlikely, for now. Hydrocarbons output from the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) last year managed its first increase for more than 15 years, as spending on new-field development converted reserves into produced barrels. According to government field-by-field data, offshore oil production reached 0.934m barrels a day in the fourth quarter of 2015, an increase of over 11%
Also in this section
16 April 2026
Demand for oil is falling because supply cannot meet it, not because it is no longer required
16 April 2026
The continent has an immediate opportunity to make the most of its energy resources by capturing gas that is currently slipping away
15 April 2026
The continent is seeing political pushback to climate plans, corporate reassessment of transition goals and rising supply risk in a fractured global order
15 April 2026
The Middle East energy crisis may turn out to be pivotal to the industry’s long-term expansion, but significant challenges still stand in its way
