Oil and Gas

The UK oil and gas industry is and will remain to be an important player in the world energy scene for decades to come. It will also continue to contribute significantly to the UK economy as a source of energy, revenue, exports, skills and technology.

Over the last 40 years the hostile waters of the North Sea have provided a rich source of oil and gas, but also an opportunity for the UK energy industry to develop first-class products, services and expertise.

The UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), located in the North Sea off the eastern coast of the UK, contains the bulk of the country's oil reserves. There are also sizable reserves in the North Sea north and west of the Shetland Islands. Besides these offshore assets, the UK also has the Wytch Farm field located in the Wessex Basin, the largest onshore oil field in Europe, which has produced more than 400 million barrels of oil over its 35-year life.

In 2010 the industry produced 2.3million barrels of oil and gas equivalent, invested £6.0billion of capital, spent £6.9billion on operating costs, drilled 129 wells, discovered a further 300-400 million boe and initiated the development of 13 new fields and 4 major incremental projects. In 2010 figures show that the UK oil and gas industry contributed just under 60% of the UK’s total energy needs.

UK supply chain: UK companies now lead the world in many areas of finding, developing and extracting oil and gas as well as managing over 570 installations currently operating in the North Sea.

This high-performing industry of some 4000 companies which employ between them 440,000 people, rests on a solid knowledge base, cemented by a tradition of academic, engineering and professional excellence.

The UK’s specific strengths include project management, major contracting, design engineering, asset and operational management, design and manufacturing of advanced equipment, research and development, training and education, professional and financial services. All delivered with a total commitment to health, safety and the environment.

Exports: The UK’s strong position in the global oil and gas sector is demonstrated by the approximately $10 billion in oil and gas equipment and services being exported each year.

PILOT: PILOT is a joint programme involving the Government and the UK oil & gas Industry - Operators, Contractors, Suppliers, Trade Unions and Small to Medium Enterprises (SME’s) - aiming to secure the long-term future of the Industry in the UK. It is the successor to the Oil & Gas Industry Task Force (OGITF) which was established in 1998 in recognition of the dramatic fall in oil prices, the maturing of the UKCS, and the urgent need to reduce the cost base of activity in the basin.

The UK Governemt department responsible for the oil and gas industry in the UK, Department for Energy And Climate Change (DECC) has listened to the supply chain and concluded that early information on emerging projects would be most helpful to enable them to plan ahead. With this in mind we have developed this new initiative, to provide a real-time look at the oil and gas projects both for new field developments and decommissioning of redundant facilities in the UKCS over the next few years.

Project Pathfinder information includes the location, type of development, and the timings of the opportunities as well as the all important contact details within the companies. It has been developed to provide increased visibility to the contracting community and to build on the information available from existing forums such as the PILOT Share Fair and the PILOT Forward Workplan.

NOF Energy works closely with Oil & Gas UK and DECC to ensure members are fully aware of issues and initiatives taking place in the industry.

In 2011 capital investment in the UKCS could rise to £8billion and in the next decade and beyond, up to £70billion could be invested, this is some £10billion higher than forecast in recent years.