2025 will go down in the records as the first year that no new exploration wells have commenced since the UK North Sea opened in 1964. In contrast 30 new wells commenced in Norway with up to 9 more expected by year end.

This is policy-induced decline on steroids.

Recent resource data from the regulator, the NSTA, shows there is more potential in unlicensed acreage than in acreage that is licensed. Of 3.4 billion barrels of oil and gas equivalent (boe) in discovered but undeveloped fields, 2 billion are unlicensed. Of 4.6 billion boe in mapped undrilled targets, 3.1 billion boe are unlicensed. 

Exploration for and development of what are typically now modest-sized fields on the UK Continental Shelf, produced using existing platforms, pipelines and onshore terminals, are the key way that existing fields and facility lives are prolonged, slowing the rate of decline.

Without exploration and fiscal reform, Labour’s well intended manifesto commitment to manage existing fields for the rest of their lives cannot be delivered and promises to workers of a phased and responsible transition are meaningless.

It doesn’t have to be like this.

The resource and potential demonstrably exist to allow the North Sea to play a major part in a responsible transition, preserving jobs and skills, paying taxes and deferring field abandonment. 

Graham Goffey
Founder, owner, managing director, Soliton Resources

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