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
| 01 May 25 |
UK: Essar Energy Transition’s hydrogen-ready furnace now powering EET Fuels’ Stanlow site EET Fuels (the trading name of Essar Oil (UK) Ltd), which plans to create the world’s leading low carbon process refinery, has successfully completed the installation and connection of its new hydrogen-ready furnace to the refinery system at its Stanlow site in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. |
| 01 May 25 |
UK: ElectroRoute and Low Carbon announce balancing PPAs for 140 MW of UK solar projects ElectroRoute, a leading energy trading and services company, and Low Carbon, a renewable energy company and the UK’s leading developer of large-scale solar, have announced the signing of four balancing Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). |
| 01 May 25 |
UK: Parkmead completes sale of Parkmead (E&P) to Serica Energy Further to the announcement on 12 December 2024, Parkmead reports that all conditions relating to the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary, Parkmead (E&P) to Serica Energy (UK) have now been met and that the sale has therefore completed. |
| 29 Apr 25 |
UK: NSTA chief executive's speech at Innovation Zero: Turning ambition into reality in the North Sea NSTA Chief Executive Stuart Payne delivered a keynote speech titled, 'Turning ambition into reality in the North Sea', at the Innovation Zero conference in London, highlighting the permits issued for the UK’s first two carbon storage projects and discussing the role of CCS in helping oil and gas workers transfer their skills to clean-energy jobs, supporting communities and anchoring the offshore supply chain in the UK. |
| 29 Apr 25 |
UK’s energy transition ambitions much more than a pipe dream, NSTA chief says The go-ahead for a major carbon storage project shows the UK is turning its climate change ambitions into reality, NSTA Chief Executive Stuart Payne told hundreds of energy conference attendees. Speaking at Innovation Zero in London, Mr Payne said last week’s award of carbon storage permits for HyNet was the latest example of 'real action' on net zero from the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA). |
United Kingdom - more news
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