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
| 02 Oct 26 |
UK: SSEN Transmission publishes 2025/26 reports highlighting strong RIIO-T2 delivery and progress towards Clean Power 2030 SSEN Transmission has this week published its 2025/26 Annual Performance and Sustainability Reports, showcasing a year of continued progress in delivering the infrastructure required to support energy security, economic growth and clean power across the UK. |
| 02 Oct 26 |
UK: Early work starts on proposed Adlingfleet wind farm Vattenfall is exploring proposals for a new onshore wind farm in the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire. Adlingfleet Wind Farm would be located near Adlingfleet, Garthorpe, Fockerby and Luddington. Current proposals are for up to eight turbines with a potential generating capacity of around 56 megawatts (MW). |
| 01 Oct 26 |
UK: Aker Solutions awarded engineering and integrity contract by bp Aker Solutions will provide engineering, integrity management, project support and operational services. The new agreement expands the company’s existing support for bp’s west of Shetland assets to also include central North Sea assets. |
| 01 Oct 26 |
UK: Serica Energy completes the acquisition of Southern North Sea assets from Spirit Energy AIM-listed Serica Energy has announced the completion of the acquisition of a portfolio of Southern North Sea assets from Spirit Energy and certain affiliates, strengthening Serica's production base and reserves. |
| 30 Sep 26 |
UK: Seabed leasing fees threaten UK energy security and bills – Oxford Smith School report A new Oxford Smith School analysis finds changes to seabed leasing by The Crown Estate (TCE) have severely affected offshore wind financing costs and risk delaying the clean energy transition. |
United Kingdom - more news
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