Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many years of oil reserves remain available for extraction in (1) the UK, and (2) the UK Continental Shelf, at current rates of consumption.

The North Sea Transition Authority’s latest production projections, published in February 2026, indicate that the UK Continental Shelf could produce around 2.2 billion barrels of oil (bnbbl) between 2026 and 2050.

This is equivalent to around five years of UK oil consumption, based on final consumption of petroleum products in 2024. 80-90% of UK crude is exported to be refined abroad, as UK refineries are not set up to process its particular chemical characteristics.

The NSTA’s October 2025 reserves and resources report estimates around 2.0 bnbbl remaining in technically and commercially viable oil reserves.