Oil and Gas industry

The UK Oil and Gas extraction industry, also referred to as Upstream, covers the exploration, extraction and initial processing of North Sea oil and gas (hydrocarbons) from around the UK, both onshore and offshore. The centre of activity for the oil and gas extraction is off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland. Hydrocarbons are produced in other areas of the UK such as the southern North Sea, from around offshore Humberside to Norfolk and Suffolk, and offshore Liverpool and Morecambe Bays.

The majority of these offshore sites have landfall sites around the coast to where the hydrocarbons are piped for further distribution or processing. Some off-load from the offshore facility to small tankers which transport the cargo to various onshore terminals for onward transmission. The principal onshore production area is in Poole, Dorset where the reservoir of hydrocarbons is literally under Poole Harbour but produced onshore in an environmentally sound method. There are other lesser known onshore fields, too many to mention here but as an example, Surrey, South of London.

The UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) is facing significant challenges as the province matures. In future its ability to compete will depend critically on rapid and continual improvement in performance. This, in turn, will depend on greater collaboration to ensure this performance can be delivered with the resources available. The UK still has substantial recoverable reserves of oil and gas potentially exceeding the amount already produced. However many existing large producing fields are declining and discoveries are becoming fewer and smaller.

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Industry details

Includes:

  • Extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas
  • Service activities incidental to oil and gas extraction excluding surveying

Statistics:

  • The UK is ranked 11th globally for crude oil production
  • Total offshore crude oil production in the UK is 70.07 million tonnes
  • The UK consumes 2 million barrels of oil per day
  • Total UK natural gas production equals 84.18 bn m3
  • The UK oil and gas industry contributed 13% of
  • UK (GVA) of all production and manufacturing industries.
  • Oil and gas together met 75% of UK primary energy demand in 2005.

The Skills Gap


There is an over supply of people qualified at S/NVQ level 1 and below compared to the number of jobs at that level in the Oil and Gas Industry.

Elementary occupations only account for 1% of the overall workforce.

There is a 12% SURPLUS of people qualified at S/NVQ level 1 and below.

There is an under supply of people qualified to S/NVQ level 2 and 3 compared to the proportion of jobs at those levels in the Oil and Gas Industry.

Level 2 and level 3 occupations account for 57% of the Oil and Gas Industry.

There is a 17% DEFICIT of people qualified at S/NVQ levels 2 and 3.