UK's oil industry 'entering final decade of production'
Discussion
Telegraph said:
The North Sea oil industry is entering its final decade of production, according to new academic research that rejects Alex Salmond’s claims during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum campaign of an impending second boom.
An Edinburgh University study of output from offshore fields estimated that only around 10 per cent of the UK's original recoverable oil and gas remains untapped.
An Edinburgh University study of output from offshore fields estimated that only around 10 per cent of the UK's original recoverable oil and gas remains untapped.
Link
Report also says fracking isn't going to be golden egg previously predicted.
Anyone remember "BP - Britain at it's best"
All looking a bit grim on the energy front. .
Smiler. said:
Telegraph said:
The North Sea oil industry is entering its final decade of production, according to new academic research that rejects Alex Salmond’s claims during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum campaign of an impending second boom.
An Edinburgh University study of output from offshore fields estimated that only around 10 per cent of the UK's original recoverable oil and gas remains untapped.
An Edinburgh University study of output from offshore fields estimated that only around 10 per cent of the UK's original recoverable oil and gas remains untapped.
Link
Report also says fracking isn't going to be golden egg previously predicted.
Anyone remember "BP - Britain at it's best"
All looking a bit grim on the energy front. .
If the oil price goes up to $100/barrel then the N Sea production will continue for longer than expected.
The technology used in well stimulation continues to advance, and increased oil/water separation capacity can again be cost effective.
And to cap it all, the costs of decommissioning the offshore structures is such that the operators will delay doing this for as long as possible, as long as they can demonstrate that their integrity management is good enough to justify their licences!
Back in the '80s "experts" were saying that the world would run out of oil by the turn of the century. Now we have a glut of the stuff!
The technology used in well stimulation continues to advance, and increased oil/water separation capacity can again be cost effective.
And to cap it all, the costs of decommissioning the offshore structures is such that the operators will delay doing this for as long as possible, as long as they can demonstrate that their integrity management is good enough to justify their licences!
Back in the '80s "experts" were saying that the world would run out of oil by the turn of the century. Now we have a glut of the stuff!
Links to the 'study' - http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/homes/thompson/Blog/
http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/homes/thompson/
Really just a short article by a emertius professor in a amateur geology magazine. His research background is climate change and the approach here would probably be torn apart if posted in one of the Climate Change threads here.
I doubt the petroleum engineering departments at Heriot Watt and Robert Gordons are worried at being usurped here.
No mention of the real challenges facing the industry:
http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/homes/thompson/
Really just a short article by a emertius professor in a amateur geology magazine. His research background is climate change and the approach here would probably be torn apart if posted in one of the Climate Change threads here.
I doubt the petroleum engineering departments at Heriot Watt and Robert Gordons are worried at being usurped here.
No mention of the real challenges facing the industry:
- low oil prices
- the US fracking industry now in the position of swing producer, potenntially preventing prices recovering to the levels required in the North Sea
- ageing infrastructure
- decommissioning fields reducing the viability of the remaining infrastructure
- lack of investment
- increasing cost and complexity of extracting marginal reserves.
- lengthy onshore planning permission and appeal processes
- protest groups disrupting onshore exploration work
The industry analysts I've heard recently in places like bloomberg are basically saying the oil price is capped at $50, as soon as it starts to climb US production is ramped up forcing the price back down.
Basically, OPEC has lost its power because of the USA's gains towards self sufficiency in the energy markets.
Basically, OPEC has lost its power because of the USA's gains towards self sufficiency in the energy markets.
A good number of newish fields are coming into production now...Clair Ridge, Culzean, Kraken, Mariner, West of Shetland etc. They will be producing for many years to come. Although the UK will never produce the volumes of the 80/90s there is still a viable industry, that has restructured to work in a sub $50 market.
Edited by abzmike on Wednesday 20th September 08:15
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