[Carth]

https://www.offshore-mag.com/regiona...-higher-prices

UK gas production between January and August 2021 totaled 17 bcm, down 28% on the comparable period for 2020, according to Wood Mackenzie, a Verisk business.

Factors included delays to new projects and maintenance, notably the three-week program in June to maintain the Forties Pipeline System in the UK central North Sea (postponed from last summer).

This resulted in the shutdown of supply from all connected 67 offshore fields, while further work on other parts of the system throughout the year meant field clusters such as Elgin/Franklin, Shearwater, and ETAP have all been offline for longer.

But output should rebound to 35 bcm in 2022, with the recovery driven by the start-up of new gas projects such as IOG’s Saturn Banks hubs, and others deferred from 2020 due to the coronavirus, such as Arran, Columbus, and Finlaggan in the UK central North Sea.

However, Norway’s gas production has also been affected by planned and unplanned maintenance, while continental Europe has been struggling to satisfy its own gas storage needs ahead of the coming winter.