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Internet Tools and Resources North Sea Oil Insight
| North Sea Oil Insight |
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| Written by Jack Kane |
| Tuesday, 27 October 2009 08:08 |
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The North Sea is one of most frequently traversed seas of the world and two of the world's largest ports are situated on its coasts. The North Sea is mostly renowned for its offshore oil industry; however it also supplies most of Northern Europe with fish, with over 230 different species living its waters. In particular Cod, Sole, Plaice, Mackerel and Haddock are fished commercially. These intensive and sometimes conflicting uses of the North Sea cause a number of challenges in maintaining a healthy and balanced eco system. Most people consider oil in the region to have been discovered within the last 35 years; however it was way back in 1859 when the oil was first struck, in the Southern North Sea Basin above North Germany after initially drilling for coal. This oil find kick started the German oil industry, up until 1890 a further 100 well were drilled, of which 60 produced oil. Natural Gas was then discovered in the North Sea shortly after in 1910. Then in August 1959 after five relatively quiet decades, a well drilled by Shell & Esso in Groningen, the Netherlands literally changed the Oil and Gas industry in Europe over night. The immense size of the Groningen field was soon realized. Geologists calculated it to be some twenty miles long with a capacity of 6 billion cubic feet per day, making it one of the largest gas fields in the world. After this huge discovery, commercial exploration in the North Sea truly got started. Five further major discoveries totaling 20 trillium cubic feet were located in 1965, which was enough to completley saturate the UK market. By 1969 seismic ships were scouring the length and breadth of the North Sea in search of Oil and Gas. Then in the same year the Phillips Petroelum Company found the first billion barrel oil field, 'Ekofisk Field', in Norwegian waters. The North Sea is sometimes considered to be a deep sea area; however it is actually relatively shallow. The depth increases from less than 30 meters in the South to around 200 meters in the North. The exception to this is a small area of the North Sea called the Norwegian Trench which cuts through the North-Western part of the sea and is up to 700 meters deep in the area called the Skagerrak. Current opinion suggests the UK's share of North Sea oil is now in decline, with present reserves diminishing swiftly from 35 years after the oilfields were first driller. A growing body of opinion suggests that the remaining oil field reserves have been consistently underestimated. The equivalent of 37 billion barrels of oil have been extracted from the UK Continental Shelf, leaving up to 25.5billion barrels still to be recovered. Industry experts firmly believe that the remaining reserves exceed current estimates by as much as a fifth. New technology and the rising price of oil mean that it is now economically viable to drill fields once considered too difficult or too remote. About the Author: Looking for the perfect oil job? Then click: oil jobs Grab a totally unique version of this article from the Uber Article Directory Kindly provided by MoneyHunter.org You are welcome to use this article on your own website, if you include the link just before this text. |
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