BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 14. European oil production in 2023 is expected at 3.77 mb/d, Trend reports.
According to OPEC's latest forecast, this is an increase of 0.20 mb/d, or 5.66 percent, year-on-year.
In particular, Norway's liquids supply in the current year is expected at an average of 2.1 mb/d, up by 0.2 mb/d, unchanged from the previous month's assessment.
In 2022, production in the Norwegian Continental Shelf experienced a decline of approximately 140,000 b/d compared to the previous year, averaging 1.9 mb/d. This decrease reflects some underperformance in Norwegian fields.
However, several projects, ranging from small to large, are planned to commence in 2023. The main source of growth is expected to come from the ramp-up of the Johan Sverdrup field, which entered its phase 2 in December 2022. Equinor, the Norwegian energy company, announced in May 2023 its plan to maintain Johan Sverdrup output at a higher level, reaching close to 755,000 b/d after successful facility testing.
Additionally, Neptune Energy announced the start-up of its Fenja field, which is anticipated to produce around 35 tboe/d (thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day). Fenja is connected to the Njord complex, operated by Equinor, which resumed operations in December 2022.
Meanwhile, looking ahead to 2023, UK liquids production is forecasted to increase by 20 tb/d, averaging 0.9 mb/d. However, this is a minor downward revision of 8,000 b/d from the previous assessment, attributed to lower-than-expected output in April 2023.
In 2022, UK liquids production experienced a decline of 51,000 b/d compared to the previous year, averaging 0.9 mb/d. This estimate remains largely unchanged from the previous assessment.
To counterbalance the decline in base production, several new fields such as Seagull, the Penguins Redevelopment, Captain EOR, and Saturn Banks phase 1 are expected to contribute. It is crucial to sanction new projects to sustain future oil and gas output, considering that UK production has been declining over the long term.
Shell UK Ltd successfully completed restart operations at the Pierce field in the UK Central North Sea. After undergoing upgrades to allow gas production, which had previously been limited to oil, the field is projected to reach a gross peak production of 30 tboe/d. This represents more than double the production prior to redevelopment, with gas production surpassing oil production.