55 / 88
ECONOMIC REPORT 2015
55
Many of the most costly fields to operate, those to the
right hand side of Figure 40, are in fact approaching the
end of their productive lives. With fewer recoverable
reserves remaining and a high proportion of fixed
operating costs, UOCs often accelerate excessively in
the final years of production. As fields deplete over
time, there will always be those operating at the tail
of their production with very high UOCs in the years
immediately prior to decommissioning.
Nevertheless, there are also a small number of very
high cost fields on the UKCS with significant recoverable
reserves remaining. These fields, most of which are
found in the northern North Sea (NNS), struggle to
remain viable against a backdrop of rapidly declining
revenues. Dunlin is the first example of a major field that
has reached its economic limit and ceased production
despite significant volumes of reserves remaining within
existing reservoirs.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
0-10
10-20
20-30
30-40
40-50
50-60
>60
Number of Fields
Unit Operating Cost (£/boe - 2014 Money)
2011
2012
2013
2014
Source: Oil & Gas UK
Figure 40: Distribution of Unit Operating Costs by Number of Fields
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10