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Appraisal
Appraisal activity also continued to decline with 13 wells (including ten geological sidetracks) drilled in 2015.
Activity has fallen sharply over the last decade from an average of 51 wells per year from 2006 to 2010 to an
average of only 24 wells per year from the period 2011 to 2015.
This fall is in part driven by the need to keep pre-development costs down for smaller prospects by cutting back on
the number of appraisal wells drilled. The lack of exploration success in recent years means there are also fewer
new opportunities to appraise, while the low oil price means companies are less likely to appraise more marginal
discoveries that may turn out to be sub-economic in the current climate.
Oil & Gas UK expects appraisal activity to fall again in 2016, forecasting only six to nine wells across the year.
Figure 19: Appraisal Well Count and Forecast
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10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Number of Wells Drilled including Sidetracks
Appraisal Sidetracks
Appraisal Wells
Source: Oil & Gas UK, OGA
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5
6
6 - 9
Wells