Oil & Gas UK has welcomed Statoil’s investment of over £4 billion in the UK’s oil and gas reserves. Statoil earlier today announced a $7 billion investment in the Mariner oil field development, situated in the UK North Sea.

Mike Tholen, Oil & Gas UK’s economics director, said: „An investment of this magnitude in the UK’s oil and gas reflects this industry’s crucial role in boosting Britain’s economic growth. The largest offshore development in the UK for a decade, Mariner requires pioneering technology and will bring hundreds of high skilled, long-lasting jobs across the country, hundreds of millions of pounds in additional tax revenues as well as crucial security to our energy supplies. Expected to produce oil and gas for thirty years, this project, and others recently given the go ahead on the UK continental shelf, will help to boost production and stem the decline we have seen in recent years, so helping the full economic benefit of our reserves to be realised in time.“

Statoil is pending final approval of the field development plan by the UK authorities, and expects to start production from Mariner in 2017. The field is estimated to produce for 30 years, with an average production of around 55,000 barrels of oil per day over the plateau period from 2017 to 2020.

Mike Tholen added: „The approval of Mariner can in part be attributed to recent close engagement with the Treasury and the resulting tax changes aimed at boosting investment in a range of difficult fields including heavy oil projects. The economic benefits of such projects for the whole of the UK are a stark reminder of the importance of ongoing engagement with the Government to further improve the UK oil and gas business environment.“

December 21, 2012; Image: Statoil