The North Sea’s production efficiency has improved for a fifth consecutive year, rising to 74%, according to a new report released by the Oil and Gas Authority.
The 1% improvement from 2016 helped contribute an additional 12 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in 2017 – or an additional 32,000 boe per day.
The report compares actual production to the theoretical maximum economic potential of the fields (and associated infrastructure), compared to previous years.
Production efficiency is a key performance indicator (KPI) for the industry and the OGA as a core element of production optimisation and asset stewardship performance.
Other KPIs from the report include:
- Losses to production in 2017 were down to 200 million boe, from 210 million boe the previous year
- Three out of five regions in the North Sea have seen improvements to production efficiency in 2017, compared to the previous year. In particular, the southern North Sea (SNS) saw a 7% increase since last year recovering from a drop in 2016
- Well losses across the basin fell by 11% in 2017 after a significant rise in 2016, and:
- Plant losses fell by 5% in 2017, helping to drive improved overall efficiency.
Loraine Pace, OGA Head of Performance, said: “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. Looking ahead, we are committed to working with all operators in their efforts to further increase production efficiency.”
17 Jul 2018
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