North Sea drilling activity has slumped in the past three months.
Business advisory firm Deloitte’s latest offshore report reveals today that the number of new wells being drilled on the UK Continental Shelf fell by a third between the second and third quarter of the year.
However, the firm said the outlook for the region remained positive.
A total of 11 exploration and appraisal wells were drilled in the UK during the third quarter of 2013 – five fewer than during Q2 and six fewer than the same period last year.
Despite the fall in figures for the UKCS, the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) has produced eight more wells during Q3 2013 than the same period last year.
Graham Sadler, managing director of Deloitte’s PSG, said a number of factors may have affected the UK drilling figures over the summer months.
“While the summer is often a peak period for drilling, the UKCS is a complex region, with a natural ebb and flow of activity across the North Sea industry,” he said.
“When bidding for exploration licences, companies make a commitment to the Government to drill a certain amount of wells within a certain timeframe. Many companies have commitments from recent licensing rounds which are yet to be fulfilled, so we may well see these materialise in the coming months, drawing a more positive conclusion to the end of the year.”
Graeme Sheils, energy partner at Deloitte in Aberdeen, said the prospects for the region were strong.
He said: “While the most recent drilling figures are lower than expected, one quarter does not tell the whole story. Business confidence continues to be positive around the outlook for UKCS, with the oil service sector seeing high activity levels on the back of strong production.”
Smaller explorer companies have continued to show interest and enter the North Sea.