Guidance

Oil and gas: field data

Data for oil and gas wells around the UK: production history, income, expenditure on exploration, spills, remaining reserves and approvals.

From:
Oil and Gas Authority
Published
22 January 2013
Last updated
5 August 2016 — See all updates

This guidance was withdrawn on

The Oil & Gas Authority launched a new website on 3 October 2016 to reflect its new status as a government company.

This formalises the transfer of the Secretary of State’s regulatory powers in respect of oil and gas to the OGA, and grants it new powers. This website will no longer be updated. Visitors should refer to www.ogauthority.co.uk

Overview

There are vast amounts of data available that relate to UK oil and gas fields, including historical and current production figures, production projections, charts indicating UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) income and expenditure, and information releases on oil discharges.

Gas received at terminals

Field details

Total oil production: 1975 to 2014

Oil production since 1975

MS Excel Spreadsheet, 66.5 KB

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Total gas production: 1991 to 2014

Gross gas production since 1991

MS Excel Spreadsheet, 168 KB

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Flaring - by fields

Gas flaring at oil terminals and producing offshore oilfields

MS Excel Spreadsheet, 48 KB

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Oil received at terminals

Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics Table F.1: Crude oil and natural gas liquids production

Production projections

Production projections - (updated 29/02/2016)

PDF, 151 KB, 4 pages

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Production (and demand) projections - (updated 29/02/2016)

MS Excel Spreadsheet, 283 KB

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UK production data

This is the gateway to the release of UK production data.

Tabulated versions

The following reports contain data as a rolling 12-month dataset:

Historical production data

Oil and gas wells

Oil fields

Offshore Onshore
Oil fields by well Onshore oil fields by well
Well oil production by year Well oil production by year
Well gas production by year Well gas production by year
Well water production by year Well water production by year
Well injection by year Well injection by year

Gas fields

Offshore Onshore
Offshore gas fields by well Onshore gas fields by well
Well dry gas production by year Well dry gas production by year
Well condensate production by year Well condensate production by year
Well water production by year Well water production by year

UK Oil and Gas Reserves and Resources

The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) aggregation of UK reserves and resources as at the end of 2015 is based on data collected from operators during February and March 2016.

In total, 755 fields and potential developments or past discoveries, both offshore and onshore, were reviewed.

The OGA has changed the way we report Reserves and Contingent Resources this year to be compliant with the latest SPE PRMS guidelines

Reserves have therefore been counted for approved and producing fields only. Resources from other significant discoveries where field development plans are under discussion and Extended Oil Recovery (EOR) Potential have been counted as Contingent Resources.

The above change has resulted in a net reclassification of circa 600 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) previously reported as Reserves now being reported as Contingent Resources.

This change has also resulted in some modifications to the way we report Contingent Resources for discoveries in the Summary Table – further details are given in the page referenced below.

Information about the data

  • Analysis in the oil and gas tables is focused on remaining reserves.
  • UK reserves tables are presented in metric units but Appendix 1 shows field unit versions of these tables.
  • Overall summary page presents tabular figures for discovered resources only, and offers an explanatory paragraph that takes account of the estimates for undiscovered resources to arrive at a best estimate of remaining recoverable UKCS hydrocarbon resources.
  • Summary tables are presented in billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) to allow comparison of oil and gas data.
  • Appendix 2 shows historic UK oil and gas reserves, contingent resources and production figures and is the data used to generate the oil and gas reserves and resources v time charts

Terms

Term Definition
Estimated ultimate recovery Total recovery from a field, i.e. reserves plus past production
Reserves Discovered, remaining reserves that are recoverable and commercial. Can be proven, probable or possible depending on confidence level (as described below)
Contingent Resources Contingent resources are those quantities of petroleum estimated to be potentially recoverable from known accumulations, but the applied project(s) are not yet considered mature enough for commercial development. Includes future planned developments where development plans are under discussion that have not been approved, and “Potential Additional Resources” (PARS) which are discovered resources that are not currently technically or commercially producible.
Undiscovered resources Undiscovered potentially recoverable resources in mapped leads

Reserves are categorised as ‘proven’, ‘probable’ or ‘possible’, based on confidence levels, as follows:

Reserves Description
Proven Reserves that on the available evidence, are virtually certain to be technically and commercially producible, i.e. have a better than 90% chance of being produced
Probable Reserves that are not yet proven, but which are estimated to have a better than 50% chance of being technically and commercially producible
Possible Reserves that at present cannot be regarded as probable, but which are estimated to have a significant – but less than 50% – chance of being technically and commercially producible

Oil and Gas Authority aggregation of UK reserves and resources

UK Oil Reserves and Estimated Ultimate Recovery 2016

PDF, 267 KB, 4 pages

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UK Gas Reserves and Estimated Ultimate Recovery 2016

PDF, 319 KB, 4 pages

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Estimates of UK Potential Additional Resources 2016

PDF, 147 KB, 2 pages

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Pie Charts Showing Potential for UK Reserves Growth 2016

PDF, 301 KB, 1 page

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Estimates of UK Undiscovered Resources 2016

PDF, 164 KB, 4 pages

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Summary Table Giving Ranges of UK Hydrocarbon Resources 2016

PDF, 262 KB, 3 pages

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Appendix 1 – Field Unit Version of UK Reserves Tables 2016

PDF, 240 KB, 2 pages

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Appendix 2 – Historic UK Oil and Gas Reserves and Production 2016

MS Excel Spreadsheet, 18.3 KB

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This data was published in July 2016 and due to be updated in July 2017.

UKCS income and expenditure

The tables below outline income and expenditure related to exploration, development and operating activities on the UK Continental Shelf:

Income from and expenditure on UKCS exploration, development and operating activities: annually 1970-2013

PDF, 161 KB, 1 page

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Income from and expenditure on UKCS exploration, development and operating activities: annually 1970-2013

MS Excel Spreadsheet, 24.1 KB

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Field Approvals

The tables below list recent oil and gas Field Development Plans Approvals and Field Development Plan Addenda Approvals by OGA in 2015 and 2016 to date.

A full list of offshore field approvals since 1976 is also available together with charts showing the number of new field development plan approvals and field development plan addenda approvals by year and the capex spend committed for these approvals by year.

  1. FDP Approvals in 2016 (PDF, 14.8 KB, 1 page)
  2. FDP Approvals in 2015 (PDF, 16.6 KB, 1 page)
  3. Full List of Offshore Approvals (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 78.4 KB)
  4. Chart Showing Number of Field Approvals By Year (PDF, 96.7 KB, 1 page)
  5. Chart Showing Number of Field Addenda Approvals By Year (PDF, 121 KB, 1 page)
  6. Chart Showing Capex Spend Committed By Year (PDF, 178 KB, 1 page)

Field Start-Ups

The tables below list recent oil and gas field start-ups in 2015 and 2016 to date.

A full list of offshore fields in production is also available.

  1. Field Start-Ups in 2016 (PDF, 9.55 KB, 1 page)
  2. Field Start-Ups in 2015 (PDF, 11 KB, 1 page)
  3. Full List of Offshore Fields in Production (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 30.1 KB)

Oil discharged with produced water

A mixture of oil, water and gas is produced from reservoirs and these components are usually separated in the production train. The oil and gas is exported to shore while the produced water is disposed of. Produced water can be disposed of in a number of ways, however it is most commonly discharged to sea. The produced water will be contaminated with oil and is therefore treated to remove the majority of oil before being discharged to sea – although small volumes remain.

Legislation

Between 1991 and 2005, the discharge of oil-contaminated produced water from offshore installations was permitted by an exemption granted under the Prevention of Oil Pollution Act 1971 (POPA). The oil content can not exceed 40 parts per million as a monthly average.

The Offshore Petroleum Activities (Oil Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2005 (OPPC) came into effect on 20 August 2005, replacing POPA. Under OPPC, installations are granted a permit for activities discharging oil to sea.

Since 1 January 2006, the oil in produced water must not exceed 30 milligrams per litre as a monthly flow weighted average.

In 2001 the OSPAR (Oslo and Paris) Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic – to which the UK is a contracting party – adopted Recommendation 2001/1. The recommendation set a goal that “each Contracting Party should ensure that the total quantity of oil in produced water discharged into the sea in the year 2006 from all offshore installations under its jurisdiction has been reduced by a minimum of 15% compared to the equivalent discharge in the year 2000 for all offshore installations under its jurisdiction at that time”.

The UK oil and gas industry implemented improvements in produced water management, which resulted in the UK meeting and exceeding the 15% reduction set under OSPAR Recommendation 2001/1.

PPRS 2000 manual

Manual on National Archive

Contacts

Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics Table F.2: Gas production, Gross gas production since 1991 and Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics Table F.1: Crude oil and natural gas liquids production

Shyam Lakhani Telephone: +44 (0) 300 068 6865

Field List

Derek Woolley Telephone: +44 (0) 300 068 5751

The OGA field partners and the percentage of their holding

Marcelle Wynter Telephone: +44 (0) 300 068 66057

UK production data, Oil production since 1975 and Gas flaring at oil terminals and producing offshore oilfields

Phil Harrison Telephone: +44 (0) 300 068 6036

Oil discharged with produced water

Offshore Inspectorate Team Telephone +44 (0) 1224 254138

UKCS income and expenditure, Production projections and Production (and demand) projections

Mike Earp tel: 0300 068 5784

UK oil and gas reserves

John Webber Telephone: 0300 020 1041

or

Joy Gray Telephone: 0300 067 1614

Field Approvals and Field Start-ups

John Webber Telephone: 0300 020 1041

Updates to this page

Published 22 January 2013
Last updated 5 August 2016 + show all updates

  1. Field approvals and start-ups - (updated)

  2. Oil and Gas Authority aggregation of UK reserves and resources - (added)

  3. Field Approvals and Start-ups in 2016 - (updated)

  4. Field Approvals and Start-ups in 2016 - (updated)

  5. Field approvals and start-ups in 2016 - (updated)

  6. Produced water discharges containing oil (2006-15) - (added)

  7. Oil and Gas Authority: Updated documents for Field Approvals and Field Start-Ups

  8. Production projections - (updated)

  9. Field approvals and start-up - (updated)

  10. Field approvals and start-up - (updated)

  11. Production projections - (updated)

  12. Oil and Gas: Updated spreadsheet for Offshore fields in production

  13. Oil and Gas: Updated spreadsheets for offshore field approvals and fields in production

  14. Oil and Gas: Updated Gross gas production since 1991 spreadsheet

  15. Field Approvals in 2015 - (updated)

  16. Field approvals and start-ups - (updated)

  17. Produced water discharges containing oil (2006-14) - (updated)

  18. Oil and Gas: Addition of Estimated Recoverable Hydrocarbon Resources document

  19. UK Oil and Gas Reserves and Resources 2015 - (updated)

  20. Oil produced since 1975 and Gas Flared at terminals - (updated)

  21. Oil and Gas: Field Approval spreadsheet and PDF update for June

  22. Oil and Gas: Update of Field Development Approvals by year and update of charts for May 2015

  23. Oil and gas: Production projections - (updated)

  24. Oil and gas: Field approvals and start-ups - (updated)

  25. Oil and Gas: Added detailed guide to Fields and Wells A-Z

  26. Oil and Gas: Update of Field Approvals spreadsheets and PDF's

  27. Oil and gas: Field approvals and start-up in 2014 - (updated)

  28. Oil and gas: field approvals and start-ups - (updated)

  29. Oil and gas: Income from and expenditure on UKCS exploration, development and operating activities: annually - (updated)

  30. Oil and gas: Field approvals in 2014 - (updated)

  31. Oil and gas: Update of FDP approvals pdf, field approvals chart and offshore fields in production spreadsheet

  32. Oil and gas: Field approvals in 2014 - (updated)

  33. Oil and gas: Field approvals in 2014 - (updated)

  34. Oil and gas: Field approvals in 2014 - (updated)

  35. Oil and gas: Gas/Oil received at terminals and total gas production - (updated)

  36. Oil and gas: UK Oil and Gas Reserves 2014 - (added)

  37. Oil and gas: Field approvals in 2014 - (updated)

  38. Oil and gas: Oil production and gas flared - (updated)

  39. Oil and Gas: Field Approvals and Full list of Offshore Fields in Production updated

  40. Oil and gas: Offshore field approvals - (updated)

  41. Oil and gas: Field Approvals in 2014 - (updated)

  42. Oil and gas: Produced water discharges containing oil (2006-13) - (updated)

  43. Oil and gas: Field approvals and start-ups in 2014 - (updated)

  44. Oil and gas: Production projections - (updated)

  45. Oil and gas: Field approvals and start-ups in 2013 - (updated), 2014 - (added)

  46. Oil and gas: Field approvals and start-ups in 2013 - (updated)

  47. Ol and gas: Field approvals and Start-up in 2013 - (updated)

  48. Oil and gas: Added field partners spreadsheet

  49. Oil and gas: Field apprvovals and start-ups in 2013 - (updated)

  50. Oil and gas: Production projections updated

  51. Oil and gas: Field approvals and Start-ups in 2013 - (updated)

  52. Field approvals updated

  53. Oil and gas: field approvals and start-ups - updated

  54. Contacts added

  55. FDP approvals in 2013 - updated

  56. Oil production since 1975 - updated and Gas flaring at oil terminals and producing offshore oilfields 2012 added

  57. Moved PON1 data to Environmental Data page

  58. Updated 2013 Field Approvals

  59. Updated production projections

  60. Added Mariner and Balloch Field Approvals

  61. First published.

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