United Kingdom Country Analysis Brief -- EIA

This Report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration finds that the United Kingdom (UK) is the largest producer of oil and second-largest producer of natural gas in the European Union (EU). After years of being a net exporter of both fuels, the UK became a net importer of natural gas and crude oil in 2004 and 2005, respectively. Production from UK oil and natural gas fields peaked in the late 1990s and has declined steadily over the past several years, as the discovery of new reserves has not kept pace with the maturation of existing fields. In response, the government has begun a three-pronged approach to address the predicted domestic shortfalls: 1) increasing domestic production; 2) establishing necessary import infrastructure, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminals and transnational pipelines; and 3) investing in energy conservation and renewables.