A total of 32 crude and natural gas projects are expected to commence operations in the North Sea region by 2025, with the UK claiming the highest number at 22, followed by Norway and Denmark with nine and one respectively, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData.
This estimate is down slightly from GlobalData’s previous estimate of 36 new projects. The change in planned project count is mainly a result of the start of production at several projects.
GlobalData’s report states that Statoil will lead the North Sea in terms of operatorship of planned projects, with the highest number of planned assets in the region with four crude projects. Maersk Olie og Gas and EnQuest jointly occupy second place, with three planned projects each.
In terms of gas production volumes, key planned projects in the North Sea are expected to contribute 869 Mbo/d to global crude production and 996.8 MMcf/d to global gas production by 2025. Among companies, Statoil is expected to lead planned oil production.
In the North Sea region, key planned projects are expected to come online with a total capital expenditure (capex) of US$78.2 billion, $43.1 billion of which is expected to be spent between 2016-2025. Norway will lead the North Sea with expected capex of $23.8 billion during the forecast period, of which close to $13.2 billion will be spent on the Johan Sverdrup project. Statoil will have the highest capex spending among all the companies in the North Sea region and is expected to spend a total of $11.3 billion on the key planned projects over the next 10 years.
Major undeveloped discoveries in the North Sea region include Bagpuss in the Central North Sea basin, Hejre in the Central Graben, and Clark in the Southern North Sea basin.