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Figure 34: Capital Investment by Field in Year of Approval
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Total Capital Investment by Field
(£ Billion - 2015 Money)
Year of Field Approval
Source: OGA, Oil & Gas UK
Operating Expenditure
Industry made substantial progress in reducing UKCS operating costs in 2015, with total operating expenditure
falling by around 15 per cent to £8.2 billion. It should be noted that this only covers the aggregate cost of operating
assets on the UKCS. Cost reductions achieved on existing assets are partially offset by the operating costs of new
field start-ups. On a like-for-like basis, operating costs on existing assets actually fell from £9.7 billion in 2014 to
£8 billion in 2015. A further reduction of more than £1 billion is expected over the course of 2016.
Figure 35: Changes in Operating Costs (New versus Existing Fields)
Reduction from Existing Fields
Contribution from New Fields
7.5
8.0
8.5
9.0
9.5
10.0
2014/15
2015/16
Source: Oil & Gas UK
9.7
8.0
8.2
8.2
7.1
7.6
7.0
6.
0
Total Operating Costs (£ Billion)
1
2
3
4
5
6