UK offshore oil needs investment, policy support: OEUK

UK offshore oil needs investment, policy support: OEUK

London, 29 March (Argus) — The UK's offshore oil and gas sector needs "rapid investment in new infrastructure" to prevent the country from becoming more reliant on imports, industry lobby group OEUK — formerly OGUK — said today.

The UK's offshore output "is in rapid decline" and will fall by up to 15pc/yr unless there is new investment, which would leave the UK relying on imports to cover 80pc of its gas and 70pc of its oil requirements, according to the OEUK's 2022 business outlook report.

Stubbornly high global energy prices and a pledge by countries in Europe to reduce their dependence on imports of Russian hydrocarbons in the wake of the Ukraine conflict have thrown the issue into sharp relief. "Energy security is now national security," OEUK chief executive Deirdre Michie said.

The group's market intelligence manager Ross Dornan highlighted the importance of being as energy-independent as possible, with "oil and gas still at the heart of this".

The IEA's net zero by 2050 roadmap, launched last year, envisaged a world in which no new oil or gas fields are developed. But such a scenario would leave "the UK and other countries increasingly reliant on Russia and Opec member states", OEUK said. "It