One third of UK North Sea projects to become uneconomic
OGUK warned that the falling oil price will render the projects uneconomic and lead to accelerated shut downs
A fall in the oil price to $80 a barrel would make a third of today’s likely future developments in UK waters uneconomic, and would accelerate production shut-downs and decommissioning. So warned the oil producers’ and suppliers’ organisation, Oil & Gas UK (OGUK), in its Economic Report 2014, published in late September. The UK’s oil and gas producers have seen more than a three-fold increase in unit development costs - the cost per barrel of oil equivalent (boe) to be recovered - over the past 10 years, while unit operating costs have risen nearly four-fold over the same period. The only reason the industry has been able to withstand such increases is that oil prices have nearly tripled
Also in this section
20 February 2026
The country is pushing to increase production and expand key projects despite challenges including OPEC+ discipline and the limitations of its export infrastructure
20 February 2026
Europe has transformed into a global LNG demand powerhouse over the last few years, with the fuel continuing to play a key role in safeguarding the continent’s energy security, Carsten Poppinga, chief commercial officer at Uniper, tells Petroleum Economist
20 February 2026
Sempra Infrastructure’s vice president for marketing and commercial development, Carlos de la Vega, outlines progress across the company’s US Gulf Coast and Mexico Pacific Coast LNG portfolio, including construction at Port Arthur LNG, continued strong performance at Cameron LNG and development of ECA LNG
19 February 2026
US LNG exporter Cheniere Energy has grown its business rapidly since exporting its first cargo a decade ago. But Chief Commercial Officer Anatol Feygin tells Petroleum Economist that, as in the past, the company’s future expansion plans are anchored by high levels of contracted offtake, supporting predictable returns on investment
