Production hit in the early 2010s & impact on Brent prices
Daily oil production in the United Kingdom has fallen to less than one million barrels. The years between 2012 and 2015 were the first time that production fell to such levels as UK producers were left behind their U.S. competitors using unconventional methods such as horizontal drilling and fracking, flooding the market with cheap crude. Those years saw the average annual Brent crude oil price fall by over 50 U.S. dollars. Brent is the benchmark used for oil produced in the North Sea and one of the most referenced oil prices in the world.As of 2023, there were 40 UK enterprises in the extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas sector, with an annual turnover exceeding five million British pounds. The total number of businesses was 120.