The Significance of North Sea Oil and Gas
"Without oil the great squeeze and shake out of the economy might very well have broken the back of the government. So what was achieved by all the roustabouts, engineers, divers, pilots and the financiers was epic and central."
"And yet, barely a word about it appears in Margaret Thatcher's memoirs or those of most other ministers. It's as if an attempt was made to airbrush this industry out of Britain's national story. Which would be shameful."
Andrew Marr in 'Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain', BBC TV
Energy
Oil & Gas UK
Oil and Gas UK is the leading representative organisation for the UK offshore oil and gas industry. Its members are companies licensed by the Government to explore for and produce oil and gas in UK waters and those who form any part of the industry's supply chain.
DTI Oil and Gas Directorate
The Oil & Gas Directorate of the Department of Trade and Industry.
Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG)
Pioneering Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG) is at the cutting edge of the UK race to build a credible sustainable energy footprint.
LOGIC
LOGIC was created in 1999 by the government's Oil & Gas Industry Task Force (now PILOT) to stimulate supply chain collaboration and improve the competitiveness of the UK Continental Shelf.
Pilot
PILOT is a joint programme involving the Government and the UK oil & gas Industry - Operators, Contractors, Suppliers, Trade Unions and SME's - aiming to secure the long-term future of the Industry in the UK.
Subsea UK
With some 40,000 employees, over £4 billion worth of services and products and over 800 companies, the UK subsea industry sector leads the world.
World Energy Cities Partnership
Aberdeen is the only UK member of the World Energy Cities Partnership, an international organisation representing 13 energy cities around the world.
OilCity.co.uk
The living history of the North Sea oil and gas industry online.
"The UK's oil and gas industry can help secure energy supplies for decades to come"
Malcolm Webb, Chief Executive, Oil and Gas UK
Oil and gas facts and figures
The UK Government's 26th licensing round in 2010 offered a record-breaking number of exploration licences.
Since the beginning of oil and gas production in the North Sea 39 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) have been extracted.
Up to 25 billion barrels remain to be produced from the UK sector of the North Sea (Oil & Gas UK, 2010)
The industry produces three million barrels of oil and gas a day - the UK is still a bigger oil producer than Kuwait, Nigeria or Indonesia.
The North Sea currently provides three quarters of the UK's total prime energy needs. Even with Government targets for renewables, it is predicted that the country will still need to rely on oil and gas for 70% of its energy in 2020. (Oil & Gas UK)
In 2020, the UK sector of the North Sea should still be producing sufficient oil and gas to supply 60% of UK oil demand and 25% of UK gas demand (sufficient to meet the entire domestic gas demand ot the entire UK). (Oil & Gas UK)
Our oil and gas industry is underpinned by a strong UK engineering and manufacturing sector, which is the single largest industrial investor in the UK economy, with an annual expenditure in oil and gas exploration, production and operations of around £12 billion, and is the most important industrial contributor to UK GVA (Gross Value Added). (Oil & Gas UK)
In 2008-09, with prices at record highs, oil and gas production companies paid £13 billion to the Exchequer, the equivalent of around 30% of UK corporation tax receipts. (Oil & Gas UK)
The UK oil and gas industry sustain between almost 500,000 high-value, highly-skilled jobs in the UK. (UK Oil & Gas 2008)
The UK oil and gas supply chain has an annual turnover of £13 billion and exports around the globe are worth £5 billion to the UK.
It is estimated that the oil and gas sector accounts for some 26% of Aberdeen's jobs.
In 2009, the UK produced nearly 2.5 million barrels a day. By 2020, the North Sea could still be producing 1.5 million barrels per day. (Oil & Gas UK, 2010)
Natural gas powers about 35% of UK electricity generation. This is forecast to rise to over 50% by 2020.
The oil and gas industry has invested over £350 billion and paid over £240 billion tax (£8 billion this year).
The oil and gas industry contributes £35 billion per annum to the UK balance of trade.
The UK oil and gas industry's supply chain has a turnover in excess of £16 billion pa. It exports more than £5 billion per annum (growing at 10% per year).
Total sales in the Scottish oil and gas sector in 2006 rose by 10.6% to £12.9bn. International sales accounted for 33.8%. Sales to the USA rose 33.6% and were estimated at £1.22bn.
It is estimated that there are 900 companies serving the energy sector in Aberdeen.
Around 40% of the turnover of the 300+ international oil companies based in Aberdeen is estimated to be overseas. This figure is increasing.
There are more than a hundred developed oil and gas fields in the Northern and Central North Sea.
The UK oil and gas supply chain exports around $7 billion worth of goods and services each year, representing one-quarter of the UK’s total energy sector exports.
The UK oil and gas supply chain has between 5% and 8% of the world market in equipment and services.
The UK is currently the world’s 13th largest producer of oil and gas overall, with daily production of around 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe).
Major Exhibitions
Offshore Europe
The biennial Offshore Europe Exhibition at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) is established as one of the world's premier upstream oil and gas events.
In 2009 it drew more than 1,500 exhibitors from around the world. The exhibition and conference atttracted 49,000 visitors, many of them from international oil and gas regions around the world.
All-Energy
All-Energy is the UK's largest renewable energy exhibition and conference, which takes place at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) each year in May.