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
| 06 Aug 20 |
UK: Offshore energy integration can deliver 30 percent of UK’s net zero target - OGA The integration of offshore energy systems, including oil and gas, renewables, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage, could contribute to deliver approx. 30% of the UK’s total carbon reduction requirements needed to meet the 2050 net zero target, according to the Oil and Gas Authority’s (OGA) Energy Integration Project report. |
| 06 Aug 20 |
UK: Petrofac and Storegga partner to build new energy capability for the UK Petrofac has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with independent clean energy champion, Storegga Geotechnologies. The MOU builds new energy capability and capacity in the UK and represents a significant strategic step in Petrofac’s continued expansion into new and renewable energy. |
| 06 Aug 20 |
UK: Total closes the sale of non-core UK assets to NEO Energy Following the regulatory approvals and the agreement of partners, Total has closed the sale of UK North Sea non-core assets to NEO Energy. |
| 06 Aug 20 |
UK: Hurricane Energy announces technical review and operational update Hurricane Energy, the UK based oil and gas company focused on hydrocarbon resources in naturally fractured basement reservoirs, reports that the oil water contact in the Lancaster field may be shallower than the range of oil water contacts envisaged in the 2017 CPR. |
| 05 Aug 20 |
UK: OGUK launches new SME forum to support smaller businesses under pressure A new forum dedicated to helping small and medium-sized businesses navigate the downturn has been launched by OGUK as it continues to help the sector stimulate a recovery. |
United Kingdom - more news
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