Europe / Caspian / CIS
Country profile: United Kingdom
| Location: | Western Europe, islands including the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, northwest of France |
| Climate: | temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast |
| Terrain: | mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast |
| Size: | 244820 sq. km total (Land area: 241590 sq. km Water area: 3230 sq.km) |
| Population: | 60,943,912 (July 2008 est.) |
| Languages: | English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland) |
| Government: | constitutional monarchy |
| Capital city: | London |
| Legal system: | based on common law tradition with early Roman and modern continental influences; has nonbinding judicial review of Acts of Parliament under the Human Rights Act of 1998; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
| Currency: | British pound (GBP) |
| Licensing: |
Country profile
The United Kingdom (UK) is an important political and economic power in Europe and the world. It has the second-largest economy in the European Union (EU) with a nominal 2005 gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.2 trillion. The UK economy grew by 1.8 percent in 2005, with growth of 2.2 percent forecasted for 2006. While the UK has been a member of the EU since 1973, it does not participate in the European single currency, the Euro. The UK is the largest producer of oil and natural gas in the EU.
However, after years of being a net exporter of both fuels, the UK became a net importer of natural gas in 2004. Government estimates also predict that the country will become a net importer of oil by the end of the decade. Production from UK oil and natural gas fields peaked in the late 1990s and has declined steadily over the past several years, as the discovery of new reserves has not kept pace with the maturation of existing fields. In response, the government has begun a three-pronged approach to address the predicted domestic shortfalls: 1) increasing domestic production through efficiency gains and the exploitation of marginal fields; 2) establishing necessary import infrastructure, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminals and transnational pipelines; and 3) investing in energy conservation and renewables.
Energy production and consumption
| Oil | Gas | |
| Production: | 1 million bbl/day (2005 est.) | 84 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Consumption: | 1 million bbl/day (2005 est.) | 91 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Exports: | 1 million bbl/day (2005 est.) | 8 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Imports: | 1 million bbl/day (2005 est.) | 15 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Reserves: | 4 billion bbl (1 January 2006 est.) | 509 |
| Major fields: |
United Kingdom - recent news
| 18 Apr 25 |
UK: SeaCURE awarded £3 million grant for new carbon capture project and pilot plant A new carbon capture project could pave the way for large-scale removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere using the ocean. The SeaCURE pilot plant will be built at the SEA LIFE centre in Weymouth, thanks to a £3 million grant from the UK government’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) through its Net Zero Innovation Portfolio. |
| 18 Apr 25 |
UK: ScottishPower signs multi-million pound vessel agreements with Norfolk marine companies Two Norfolk-based marine companies are set to play a major role in the construction of the East of England’s newest offshore windfarm – and reap the benefits of multi-million pound agreements – thanks to ScottishPower Renewables. |
| 18 Apr 25 |
UK: Report sets out measures to enable offshore industries to coordinate action on underwater noise more effectively The Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC) has published a new report setting out measures to ensure that the management of underwater noise is coordinated in a more effective way among the wide range of key industries now operating in the North Sea. |
| 17 Apr 25 |
UK/Ireland: Minister O'Brien welcomes new electricity interconnector as it begins powering Ireland's and the UK's energy grids The Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy Darragh O’Brien has welcomed news that a new subsea electricity interconnector linking Ireland and the UK has commenced operations. The Greenlink Interconnector, a 500 megawatt (MW) project, recently entered its 'commercial operations' phase following a successful testing period, and a three-year construction period. |
| 17 Apr 25 |
UK: Local community benefits from EDF Renewables’ first operational UK solar farm EDF Renewables UK has announced the successful operation of its first solar farm in the UK, which began generating clean, renewable energy last year. The 49.9 MW Sutton Bridge solar farm, located in Lincolnshire is capable of generating enough low carbon electricity for the domestic needs of more than 9,000 households annually |
United Kingdom - more news
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