Oil and Gas Authority publishes its UK supply chain strategy

Oil and Gas Authority publishes its UK supply chain strategy

The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has published a strategy that it says could help the UK’s oil and gas supply chain increase its turnover by over £200 billion over the next two decades.

OGA said that it will work with both the Government and industry to develop the supply chain, which is currently struggling due to a lack of new projects. The company called for a collective approach that can boost exports, decrease imports and keep expertise anchored in the UK. It also said that it wants to see the UK supply chain’s domestic market share rise from 50 per cent to 65 per cent over the next 20 years.

Bill Cattanach, Head of Supply Chain at OGA, said: “If the service sector builds on its global competitiveness and attracts the necessary investment, OGA analysis shows additional turnover of well over £200 billion can be generated over the next 20 years by doubling the UK service sector’s share of the global market and increasing its share of the domestic market.”

OGA, which recently became an independent Government company with the authority to impose sanctions, also released three other strategies that focus on exploration, information management and asset stewardship.

It said that there is an urgent need for more exploration. Around 50 exploration and appraisal (E&A) wells are needed each year to replace the anticipated decline in reserves. In the UK last year, only 13 exploration wells and 13 appraisal wells were drilled.

The strategy’s authors said: “The companies which have been the most successful explorers in recent years have invested most aggressively in modern seismic surveys.

“Such geophysical activity needs to be stimulated as a first step towards prospect generation, reducing subsurface uncertainty and polarising risk, which should ultimately lead to more high-quality, drillable exploration opportunities.”