LONDON, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- The British oil and natural gas industry will be an economic driver for years to come, though production is in store for a general decline, a report said.
Oil & Gas U.K. said Wednesday the offshore oil and natural gas industry generates $62 billion a year to the national economy.
"This is heightening the business opportunities for the U.K.'s world-renowned supply chain and is boosting employment to 450,000 jobs across Britain," the trade association's Chief Executive Malcomb Webb said in a statement.
The association said it expected 15 new fields to start production next year. Combined, that could add another 470 million barrels of oil equivalent to the existing reserve base.
"With 15 billion to 24 billion barrels of oil equivalent still remaining to be developed, the British Continental Shelf possesses great potential for contributing to economic growth for decades to come," he said.
Nevertheless, the report said annual oil and natural gas production declined in 2012 by 14.5 percent to 567 million barrels of oil equivalent. It said "only" nine fields were producing last year.
"Despite impressive investment in new developments, the production efficiency of existing assets remains in worrying decline," Webb said.
