Outlook 2025: UK offers upstream opportunity as transition and policy evolve

The importance of the oil and gas sector to the UK and the value of its assets mean 2025 could offer new opportunities and a recovery in activity

The UK upstream continues to be under pressure as the basin ages and successive governments have leaned on the sector for increased tax revenues. The country, on the other hand, maintains a significant reliance on oil and gas for its energy requirements, and the extent to which a material pivot to renewable sources will be achieved in the coming years remains a subject of debate. As such, not only is UK oil and gas well positioned to continue making a meaningful contribution to the country’s energy use, the underlying value of the assets, infrastructure and services remains, and ongoing policy clarity during 2025 could—in our view—drive renewed opportunities for operators and a recovery in s