Reuters: UK sees rebound in oil and gas production: minister

British oil and gas production, one of the main pillars for growth in the $2.5 trillion economy, could increase this year after the worst annual decline in output since the 1960s, Energy Minister Charles Hendry told Reuters in an interview on Monday.

UK oil output fell 17 percent last year to an average 1.04 million barrels per day (bpd), below a record of 2.9 bpd in 1999, while gas production plummeted 21 percent to 45.2 billion cubic meters (bcm), less than half of its peak reached in 2000.

When asked whether production would continue to decline this year, Hendry said: "I wouldn't expect that at all. My expectation is that we will now see things beginning to move back up again."  MORE