Efficiency in UK offshore industry improves for fifth consecutive year

Efficiency in the UK offshore industry has improved for a fifth consecutive year, according to a report.

The publication from the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) shows that production efficiency (PE) on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) rose to 74% in 2017.

It helped the industry to produce an additional 12 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) last year when compared to the levels reached in 2016.

The report arrives at the headline percentage by comparing the actual amount of fuel produced to the theoretical maximum potential of the fields and their associated infrastructure.

It stated: “Increased PE is being achieved by a range of methods; including deployment of new technology and shifts towards efficiency cultures.”

In further findings, losses to production in 2017 were said to be down to 200 million boe, from 210 million the year before.

And three out of five regions in the UKCS saw improvements to production efficiency last year, compared to 2016.

The OGA's head of performance, planning and reporting, Loraine Pace, said: “I'm really pleased that PE has continued to improve year on year in the UKCS.

“The report shows that industry has worked hard to deploy new technologies and shift towards efficiency cultures which has helped to achieve the 1% improvement.”

The Forties Pipeline System (FPS), which carries 40% of North Sea oil and gas, was shut down for two weeks in December last year to repair a crack to the onshore section of the pipeline.

Matt Nicol, chairman of the Production Efficiency Task Force (PETF), said: “This is positive news that UK production efficiency has risen for a fifth consecutive year to 74% in 2017, despite a challenging end to the year with the unplanned FPS outage.

“Industry's and individuals' hard work and focus on best practice and new technology is sustaining these efficiency improvements, and I see many companies and people working together to deliver tangible progress."