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areas and improve exploration well is also operations director at Oil & Gas performance. UK and is responsible for running fve

In addition to the ETF’s work, the different PILOT workstreams dedicated

Department of Energy and Climate to maximizing recovery from the UKCS,

Change (DECC), the Natural Environment including the ETF.

North Sea

Research Council (NERC), and industry “Although the central North Sea has

Exploring body Oil & Gas UK also sponsored a been developed, there are still signifcant cross-industry scoping study by SLR resources to be developed, including

Consulting. The study’s aim was to high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT), the underexplored st assess how to produce an online, 21 and the western margin of the platform. century exploration road map to the That area offers the greatest potential

UKCS to aid in providing a better under- the UK Government opened up the North for the next tranche of developments,

A new impetus to explore the standing of its resources. Sea to national and international explora- because there is a lot of ullage available

UK North Sea could help to

The impetus to improve exploration tion companies. in the existing infrastructure and a lot of unlock some of the basins’ performance is strong—if new discover- Fifty years later, there are more com- interest in drilling in that area.

ies are not made soon, current infra- panies in the basin than ever and interest “West of Shetland is the least mature underexplored plays. Elaine th area, with limited existing infrastructure, in the latest licensing round (28 ) was structure will be removed, limiting the

Maslin found out more. high, with 173 applications for around economic chances of future discoveries, 370 blocks or part blocks. But exploration Oil & Gas UK and Petroleum Exploration signifcant anniversary in the activity has fallen and discoveries are on Society for Great Britain president

UK Continental Shelf’s (UKCS) average less than 20MMboe. Oonagh Werngren warned.

A exploration history passed by In a bid to boost exploration rates, the “We have been exploring here for 50 quietly this May. Exploration Task Force (ETF) was set up years, but there are vast differences in

It was the 1964 enactment of the in 2012 by industry group Pilot to pro- understanding between the different

Continental Shelf Act. Its ratifcation by mote the basin’s new and underexplored basins,” says Oonagh Werngren, who

The Cygnus Alpha wellhead platform during installation ofshore. .Photo from GDF Suez E&P

August 2014 | OE oedigital.com 102 102_0814_Geofocus1_Elaine.indd 102 7/22/14 11:34 PM