• 38 wellbores drilled, £1.6 billion spent in year

  • Operators shifted focus to restoring production and boosting efficiency

  • UKCS has 2,298 wells. 1,439 operating. 558 shut-in

North Sea operators produced an extra 16 million barrels of oil from 56 reinstated wells in 2025 as they focused on well interventions which boosted production and efficiency.

The success of this campaign has been supported by a significant improvement in intervention efficiency, with the cost per barrel of oil equivalent added decreasing from £9.60/boe in 2024 to £7.60/boe in 2025. A total of 398 well interventions were carried out in the year.

Total well stock in the UK Continental Shelf stood at 2,298 wells, 7% down on the previous year, with 1,439 operating, 558 shut-in and 301 plugged, according to the North Sea Transition Authority’s (NSTA) 2026 Wells Insights Report.

Focusing on energy production, the NSTA has been working closely with licensees, firstly to identify which shut-in wells could potentially be reinstated, and then to support them in undertaking the necessary work. 

There are still more than 500 shut-in wells, and although many will be decommissioned, there remain opportunities for a significant number to be brought back onstream and make a contribution to UK production.

The NSTA will continue its engagement with leading operators to identify potential reinstatement opportunities.

Overall, the report presents a mixed picture of wells activity. The year saw 38 development wells, including six mechanical sidetracks drilled, with expenditure remaining steady at £1.6 billion.

Total drilled length increased from 162km in 2024 to 177km in 2025 and the average cost was cut slightly from £10,135 per metre to £10,000.

Exploration and appraisal activity declined with operators drilling three appraisal wells and no exploration wells in 2025, compared with three of each the previous year.

Looking ahead, the report forecasts that 32 exploration and appraisal wells could be drilled between 2026 and 2028, broken down into five in 2026, 12 in 2027 and 15 in 2028.

Fourteen of those wells are expected in the Central North Sea, eight in the Southern North Sea and East Irish Sea, seven in the Northern North Sea and three West of Shetland.

Keith Hogg, NSTA Wells Manager, said:

“The NSTA is fully committed in supporting industry to boost cost-effective production, so it is welcome to see that the time and resource we put into encouraging well interventions has paid off with an extra 16 million barrels produced.

“But a fall in the overall number of interventions and decline in E&A drilling, combined with rising rig costs points to a concerning loss of skills and resource. This all means it remains vital that operators engage with the supply chain and commit to investing in wells.”

Notes to editors:

For further information please contact:

Tel: 07785 655620

Email: pressoffice@nstauthority.co.uk