The UKCS consultant said that the government is missing out on the full $44bn potential of tax revenue from a predicted 600,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), forecast from 90 UKCS discoveries.
The discoveries, tracked by Hannon Westwood, are all considered capable of being brought on-stream over the next five years, and producing an estimated 2.6 billion boe.
These discoveries will play a part in providing indigenous oil and gas supplies, should they attract the investment required, estimated at around $50bn in capital expenditure (capex) and operational expenditure (opex).
The required capex investment alone is calculated to be around $33bn, and Hannon Westwood has analyzed that the expected shortfall in their development funds lies between $8bn and $18bn, with attendant consequences for the UKCS and its acreage market.
