Forbes: North Sea Oil & Gas: Not Running On Empty Yet

Ever since North Sea oil and gas production peaked in 1999, commentators within and outside the industry have tried to predict the date of its imminent demise on a regular basis. Understandably, debate about one of the world’s key non-OPEC producing regions is most vociferous in Norway and UK, the two main protagonists in this particular global hydrocarbon production saga.

Of late, oil majors (e.g. ExxonMobil) have been divesting North Sea assets while state-owned firms and independent upstarts (e.g. Endeavour International) seemed to be investing, which for some is a sign of a region in decline. Policymakers in both the main exporting countries have even had to contend with market chatter about decommissioning of old rigs offering more of a potential for return than actual production of the crude stuff.

However, empirical and anecdotal evidence from Aberdeen, a city often dubbed the ‘Oil Capital of Europe‘, suggests that while the North Sea’s golden days of yielding oil and gas are now behind us, it’ll continue to contribute to the global supply pool over the medium term. The story so far is that in its heydays, production in the British sector of the North Sea met domestic demand. However, in 2012, it supplied 67% of domestic oil demand and 53% of gas demand.
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