The NSTA published its latest Wells Insights Report on 28 October 2025, offering a comprehensive overview of UKCS well stock and activity and providing valuable insights into trends and performance across the basin.
Well interventions play a critical role in extending the life of producing assets, according to the report. By slowing natural production decline and enhancing efficiency, interventions can deliver substantial returns while offering a more sustainable alternative to drilling new wells. They are typically faster, more cost-effective, and result in fewer emissions.
Consistent intervention activity also supports the supply chain by ensuring that key equipment and expertise remain in the North Sea. This continuity helps retain a skilled workforce whose transferable capabilities are essential for advancing the UK’s energy transition.
Despite these advantages, well interventions across the UKCS declined from 443 in 2023 to 425 in 2024, continuing a gradual downward trend.
However, the interventions that were carried out demonstrated strong results, delivering 37.5 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in 2024, equivalent to 34 days of average UK production. Efficiency also improved, as intervention costs fell from £11 per barrel in 2023 to £9.60 in 2024, while the average Brent crude price was £63.10 per boe, highlighting healthy profit margins for such activity.
The NSTA’s operational wells team conducted an in-depth review of shut-in and plugged wells, collaborating closely with operators to identify approximately 200 wells with potential for reactivation. In November 2024, the NSTA hosted a workshop with operators and supply chain partners to explore practical solutions for bringing these wells back online. Within just one year, 56 wells had been successfully intervened, contributing more than 8 million boe of production over 12 months.
Click on this link to access the report.
Source: NSTA
