Economic Report 2016 - Oil & Gas UK

ECONOMIC REPORT 2016

In contrast, there are four times as many fields in production on the UKCS and output per field is almost ten times lower. In 2015, 306 fields were in operation, producing on average just two million boe per field. With smaller fields in the UK, access to infrastructure and export routes present a far greater challenge as many opportunities are not economically viable standalone developments. This results in a greater number of tie-back developments to infrastructure hubs, making UKCS production more interdependent and, subsequently, more at risk of shutdowns from planned or unplanned maintenance. The Nexen-operated Buzzard field, currently the most productive on the UKCS, produced just over 60 million boe in 2015. Meanwhile, the Statoil-operated Troll gas field, the largest in Norway, accounts for almost 20 per cent of the country’s total oil and gas output at 270 million boe. The volumes produced from Troll alone were the same as the total from the 25 largest fields on the UKCS in 2015. The presence of larger fields with higher volumes of recoverable reserves means the NCS has a more stable production base and benefits from greater economies of scale.

With smaller fields in the UK, access to infrastructure and export routes present a far greater challenge as many opportunities are not economically viable standalone developments.

Figure 52: Top Ten Producing Fields in 2015

900

Snorre

Foinaven

800

Oseberg

Franklin

Gjøa

Captain

700

Snøhvit

Kinnoull

600

Ekofisk

Britannia

Skarv

West Franklin

500

Kvitebjørn

Forties

400

Åsgard

Golden Eagle

300 Million boe

Ormen Lange

Jasmine

Troll

Buzzard

200

100

0

NCS

UKCS

Source: Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, Wood Mackenzie

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