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
| 20 Mar 19 |
UK: Creative thinking key to UKCS future - Deloitte Graham Hollis, senior partner for Deloitte’s Aberdeen office, commented on Oil & Gas UK’s flagship report into industry performance, Business Outlook 2019. |
| 20 Mar 19 |
UK: New reality could unlock £200bn of future business opportunities - Oil & Gas UK A sustained focus on cost and efficiencies with ongoing uncertainty in commodity markets marks the 'new reality' for the UK’s offshore oil and gas sector, according to Oil & Gas UK’s Business Outlook 2019, a flagship report into industry performance. |
| 20 Mar 19 |
UK: Union Jack Oil announces Fundraising, Circular and Notice of General Meeting Union Jack Oil, a UK focused, onshore oil and gas production company, has conditionally raised £1.75 million by way of a placing and subscription. The Fundraising will be used to progress Union Jack's wider activities following the drilling of the West Newton-2 conventional appraisal well, onshore UK. |
| 20 Mar 19 |
UK oil and gas industry 'needs £200bn of investment' for future development A total of £200bn needs to be spent by exploration and production companies to fully exploit the UK oil and gas sector's remaining potential, a new report has said. Industry body Oil and Gas UK (OGUK) said its Business Outlook Report 2019 showed the need for a focus on cost and efficiencies was the 'new reality'. |
| 19 Mar 19 |
UK: Hurricane Energy announces successful hook-up of FPSO at the Lancaster field Hurricane Energy has provided an operational update in relation to the Early Production System development of the Lancaster field. The Aoka Mizu FPSO has successfully hooked-up to the turret mooring system buoy. After first oil, Hurricane anticipates a gradual ramp up of production towards its planned average plateau rate of 17,000 bopd, net of operating efficiency. |
United Kingdom - more news
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