LONDON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Moving forward with a plan to breathe new life into North Sea oil and natural gas fields is an "urgent task" for the government, London said Thursday.
British Energy Secretary Ed Davey issued a statement to lawmakers saying his country is fortunate to have a diverse base of oil and natural gas supplies.
Davey in September said the United Kingdom is already feeling the worst impacts of climate change. A move closer to a low-carbon economy could be advanced by resources like offshore wind, but oil and gas will still play a major role in the national economy, he said.
Oil production from the North Sea has been in decline since the late 1990s. Government data show a decline of 7 percent from last year to 618,985 barrels per day in July, the last full month for which data are available.
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 reserve basins.
"The implementation of the Wood Review I commissioned last year, to maximize economic recovery from the North Sea, remains an urgent task," Davey said.
Wood's panel found there may be an additional 4 billion barrels of oil equivalent available for recovery in the North Sea.
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.
"The Wood review made recommendations that will refresh the management of the U.K. Continental Shelf in a profound way that will benefit both the U.K. economy as well as the myriad businesses involved in the recovery of oil and gas offshore," Davey said in a statement.
