GDF Suez puts its faith in UK gas despite forecast declines
The company has made a commitment to UKCS exploration and in particular the Cygnus gas field
Long-term oil and gas production in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) may be steadily declining, but GDF Suez is placing the North Sea at the heart of its exploration strategy. The government statistics make grim reading. UKCS oil output is expected to plunge to 33 million tonnes of oil equivalent (toe) by 2023, down from 44m toe last year. UK energy officials expect UKCS oil and gas production to continue falling by around 5% per year from 2019. Gas production could also fall as low as 25 billion cm a year (/y) by 2023, down from 33bn cm last year. On top of this, there has been a steady decline in UK North Sea drilling since the global financial crisis in 2008. Just 44 wells drilled last yea

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