London bullish about energy future

LONDON, July 7 (UPI) -- Data show there is still significant potential in domestic energy reserves, the British Department of Energy and Climate Change said Monday.

DECC said remaining oil and natural gas reserves range between 11.1 billion to 21 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

"These figures show there is a still of lot of potential remaining in domestic energy reserves," the department said.

The government in February said it was moving forward with recommendations from retired businessman Ian Wood, who led a panel tasked with finding ways to breathe new life into North Sea reserves.

By focusing on a regional strategy, rather than specific fields, and funneling more investments into the North Sea, the government said it could secure $330 billion during the next two decades by embracing Wood's recommendations.

Oil and natural gas production in the North Sea declined by 40 percent in the past three years.

DECC estimates don't include the potential from shale reserves. Exploration efforts targeting those reserves, the report said Monday, are "still at a very early stage in the United Kingdom."