Latest UK onshore oil production data: May 2021

UK onshore oil production on all measures rose in May 2021 compared with previous months but it failed to return to the level of the start of the year.

Key figures

Barrels per day (bopd): 14,327

Apr 2021 13,855 bopd
Mar 2021 14,194 bopd
Feb 2021 14,491 bopd
Jan 2021 14,794 bopd

Weight: 58,199 tonnes

Apr 2021 54,474 tonnes
Mar 2021 57,653 tonnes
Feb 2021 53,165 tonnes
Jan 2021 60,083 tonnes

Volume: 70,612 m3

Apr 2021 66,089 m3
Mar 2021 69,956m3
Feb 2021 64,507m3
Jan 2021 72,911 m3

Onshore oil as proportion of UK total oil production: 1.9%

Apr 2021 1.9%
Mar 2021 1.53%
Feb 2021 1.59%
Jan 2021 1.63%

The data in this post is published by the Oil & Gas Authority, three months in arrears.

Small increase in daily production

Onshore oil production in barrels per day (bopd) was up 3.4% in May 2021, compared with the 31-year low in April 2021.

May 2021 onshore oil production (bopd) was 0.9% higher than in March 2021 but 1.1% below the level in February 2021.

May 2021 onshore bopd was 2.6% below the level in May 2020.  

Top fields     

The top four ranking fields (Wytch Farm, Welton, Singleton and Stockbridge) remained unchanged between April and May 2021.

Gainsborough reclaimed its place in the top 20 at 18, after falling to 28 in April 2021.

Glentworth (IGas, Lincolnshire) swapped places with Horndean (IGas, Hampshire) for 5th place in the rankings. Horse Hill (UKOG, Surrey), at 7th place, overtook Scampton North (IGas, Lincolnshire).

Beckingham (IGas, Nottinghamshire) rose five places to 11, while Perenco’s fields in Dorset, Wareham and Kimmeridge, both dropped two to 13 and 14.

Humbly Grove (EP UK Investments, Hampshire) continued its fall down the table to 30, compared with 26th place in April 2021 and 13th in March 2021.

Wytch Farm

The UK’s biggest onshore oil producer increased slightly its share of total UK onshore production in May 2021. This rose from 84.2% in April 2021, to 84.5%. This is the fourth consecutive monthly increase in share of oil production, measured by m3. (Mar 2021: 83.9%; Feb 2021: 83.6%; Jan 2021: 83.3%; Dec 2020: 83.5%)

Actual production was also up 7%, from 56,019 m3 in April 2021 to 60,054m3 in May 2021.

Horse Hill, Surrey

Barrels of oil per day at Horse Hill were down slightly at 100.2, compared with 101.1 in April and 104.7 in March. But total production for the month was up slightly at 494m3 and 417.9 tonnes in May 2021, compared with 482m3 and 407.8 tonnes in April 2021.

Water production in barrels of water per day was 40 in May 2021, down from 46.8 in April 2021.

The water cut at Horse Hill (water as a proportion of total liquid produced) has continued to fall. It was 29% in May 2021, down from 31.6% in April and 32.5% in March.

Gainsborough

Production rose more than 300% between April and May 2021 but is still about half the level of May 2021. Barrels per day in May was 34.8 (less than 8 in April and 78.9 in March), volume was 172m3 (38m3 in April and 389m3 in March), and weight was 143.3 tonnes (31.7 tonnes in April and 324 tonnes in March).

Scampton North

Barrels per day fell back below 100 again: 92bpd in May, 101 in April, 91 in March and 90 in February. Water production was stable at 378m3 after a fall in March (199m3, down from 530m3 in February).

Humbly Grove

Monthly volume has fallen by more than 1,500m3 since January 2021. The May 2021 total (26m3) was 45% down on April (48m3).

Top onshore companies

• Perenco (Wytch Farm, Wareham and Kimmeridge) and Blackland Park Exploration (Whisby) both increased their share of total onshore oil production in May 2021 over the previous month.
• The IGas share continued to fall, down from 13% in March 2021, to 12.6% in April and 12.49% in May.
• Europa Oil & Gas and Egdon Resources also saw their shares of total production fall. Europa (West Firsby and Crosby Warren) was down to 0.31% in May, from 0.33% in April. Egdon fell from 0.14% in April to 0.01% in May 2021, with sole production from Fiskerton Airfield.
• There were also falls for Onshore Oilfield Services Limited (Farleys Wood), down from 0.05% to 0.04%, and EP UK Investments, down from 0.05% to 0.04% reflecting the fall in production at Humbly Grove.
• Angus Energy produced no oil for the 14^th consecutive month.

Read the latest issue of the OGV Energy magazine HERE.