ECONOMIC REPORT 2013
9
New Developments
• Nine new fields came on-stream, bringing
146 million boe into production.
• DECC approved 21 new projects, as
well as eight substantial, incremental
redevelopments.
• 55 per cent of fields approved in the last
five years havebeenorwill bedevelopedas
subsea tie-backs to existing infrastructure.
Drilling Activity
• The number of wells drilled (including
sidetracks) was:
o
26 exploration wells
o
25 appraisal wells
o
122 development wells
• Whilst drilling figures improved from 2011,
they are still below the average for the
last ten years. They need to rise further to
avoid losing substantial potential reserves
from the UKCS as infrastructure starts to
be decommissioned.
• Exploration drilling is expected to pick up
further in 2013 with 37 wells planned for
the year.
• Appraisal drilling of 18 to 20 wells is
expected in 2013.
Employment
• The industry supported some 450,000
jobs, many highly skilled, across the whole
economy, with:
o
36,000 employed by operating
companies (12,500 of whom worked
offshore)
o
200,000 employed in the supply chain
(45,000 of whom worked offshore)
o
112,000 in jobs induced by the
economic activity of the above
employees
o
100,000 in the export of goods and
services
Decommissioning
• Some 475 installations, 10,000 kilometres
of pipelines, 15 onshore terminals and
5,000 wells will eventually have to be
decommissioned.
• Decommissioning expenditure was around
£500 million and that is likely to rise to an
average of £800-1,000 million per year
during the rest of this decade.
• From 2013 through to 2040, £31.5 billion is
forecast to be spent on decommissioning
of existing assets.
• Newinvestment inprobabledevelopments
would add £3.5 billion to the total,
although much of this will be incurred
after 2040.
Editorial Notes:
• A Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations is
included in the Appendix.
• The drafting of this report was undertaken
during June and July 2013.
