BP, Shell, ConocoPhillips, Chevron to invest £10 billion in the UK’s oil industry

UK oil giant, BP and its partners are developing four new oil and gas projects that together will involve a total investment of almost £10 billion over the next five years in the UK's oil industry and help to maintain BP's production from the North Sea for decades to come.

The UK Government granted BP and its partners,  Shell, ConocoPhillips and Chevron approval to proceed with the £4.5-billion Clair Ridge project, the second phase of development of the giant Clair field, west of the Shetland Islands.

For London-based BP - whose share of the total investment in the four projects will be around £4 billion, represents the highest annual investment the company has ever made into the UK North Sea.

''Although it began over 40 years ago, the story of the North Sea oil industry has a long way yet to run. BP has produced some five billion barrels of oil and gas equivalent so far from the region and we believe we have the potential for over three billion more,'' said Bob Dudley, BP's group chief executive.

After some years of decline, the new investment will allow BP to maintain its production from the North Sea at around 200,000-250,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day until 2030.

The four BP-operated North Sea projects are part of a wave of new major oil and gas projects around the world that BP expects to come on stream over the next five years.
 
Over half of the total investment in the projects is expected to be spent in the UK. At their peak, taken together, the projects will provide some 3,000 UK oil and gas supply chain jobs, and will play a major part in sustaining the more than 3,500 jobs already existing in BP's North Sea operations.