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
| 17 May 26 |
UK: OEUK convenes North Sea leaders at CCS & Hydrogen Summit in June Industry, government and regulators will meet at OEUK’s first North Sea CCS & Hydrogen Summit (1–2 June) to discuss how to accelerate Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and hydrogen projects and infrastructure, strengthen supply chains, and align standards across the basin. |
| 17 May 26 |
UK: Aberdeenshire Council gives Ocean Winds consent for underground cable corridor that will connect 2GW Caledonia project to the grid Ocean Winds, a 50/50 joint venture between EDPR and ENGIE dedicated to offshore wind energy, and the largest offshore wind operator in Scotland, has received full onshore planning consent for its Caledonia Offshore Wind Farm. |
| 15 May 26 |
UK: Prosafe SE: Safe Caledonia contract signed with Ithaca Energy for Captain field in the UK Prosafe has signed a contract for the Safe Caledonia to provide accommodation support for Ithaca Energy at the Captain field in the UK sector of the North Sea for a firm period of 6 months commencing Q2 2027. |
| 15 May 26 |
UK: Perenco UK restarts production from the Davy gas field in the Southern North Sea Perenco UK has confirmed that, after more than five years since being shut-in, production from the Davy gas field in the Southern North Sea (SNS) has restarted. Earmarked for decommissioning following several failed restarts in 2021, Perenco UK has completed a comprehensive revival project with production from Davy wells A3 and A5 restarting in late April 2026. |
| 14 May 26 |
UK: Landmark decision to give three major offshore wind farms the go-ahead will boost UK’s energy security significantly The Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has announced a landmark decision today to grant consent to three major UK offshore wind farms, totalling up to four gigawatts of new clean power capacity. Dogger Bank South East and Dogger Bank South West, off the north east coast of England, will each add 1.5GW of capacity, developed by RWE and Masdar. North Falls off the coast of Suffolk will add up to 1GW, developed by RWE and SSE Renewables. |
United Kingdom - more news
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