Press release

Latest estimates of the UK’s oil and gas reserves and resources published

DECC today published its annual updated estimates of UK oil and gas reserves.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

DECC today published its annual updated estimates which show UK oil and gas reserves and resources are in the range of 11.1 to 21.0 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe).

These figures show there is a still of lot of potential remaining in domestic energy reserves. They also further underline the importance of greater collaboration and efficiency in the industry as described in Sir Ian Wood’s recommendations. It’s for that reason that the Government has fast tracked the recommendations of the Wood Review to maximise the potential of the North Sea and make sure the whole of the UK benefits.

The Government recognises the importance of the oil and gas sector and is committed to working with industry to create the right conditions to maximise opportunity and investment to the benefit of the whole UK economy. The published estimates do not include any estimates for shale gas or shale oil reserves as exploration for shale gas is still at a very early stage in the UK.

Full details of the figures are available on are given on given on GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/oil-and-gas-uk-field-data#uk-oil-and-gas-reserves-and-resources)

Published 7 July 2014