Oil production from the North Sea reaches its lowest level in 30 years

It is now forty years since the first oil was extracted from the North Sea. An analysis performed by Münster-based IWR, a renewable energy institute, indicates that the output of oil from the North Sea is now contracting a lot quicker than was previously thought. In 2011 output of crude oil was only 124.7 million tonnes. This is a decrease of 12 per cent over the previous year (2010: 140 million tonnes) and is also the lowest figure for 30 years (1982). (To the Press Release)
(Graph showing the trend in North Sea oil output 1971 - 2011)

Released on: 2012-09-08