The Government has launched a review of how to exploit the most oil and gas from the country’s offshore reserves, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey has said.
The independent review, chaired by Sir Ian Wood, will look at increasing the production of oil and gas from the UK Continental Shelf, Mr Davey said.
Sir Ian who recently retired from the Wood Group, a leading oil services company will look at increasing investment in exploration as well as possible changes to the licensing regime and the use of up-to-date technology to recover resources from the shelf.
His review, the first in more than 20 years, will provide interim conclusions in the autumn before a full report is published early next year.
In a written ministerial statement to Parliament, Mr Davey said that while more than 40 billion barrels of oil and gas have already been produced from the shelf, there is still a significant amount to be exploited.
He said Sir Ian would not look at changing the tax regime for the industry as there were a number of changes in 2011. But he said the review’s recommendations will be considered when the Treasury makes further policy decisions.
In a press statement, Sir Ian said: “The values involved in UK oil and gas are so large that even modest increases in key production metrics over time will deliver significant economic benefits.”
In March, Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said oil production is set to rise to two million barrels a day, taking Scotland into a “second oil boom” and boosting the case for independence.
But opponents rejected the figures, claiming the SNP were being overly optimistic.