The number of well interventions on fields across the UK Continental Shelf fell last year to 425, down from 443 in 2023, according to the UK North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA)'s 2025 UKCS Wells Insights Report.
Despite the reduced activity, the interventions that did take place during 2024 delivered total extra production of 37.5 MMboe, and efficient application led to intervention costs dropping from £11 in 2023 to £9.60 per barrel ($14.61-12.75/boe).
About 30% of the UKCS’ well stock was shut in last year, the report added. While many of those wells face decommissioning, the NSTA said a large number could also be reactivated.
Since early 2024, the NSTA has worked with eight operators on the shelf, helping them identify about 200 shut-in wells that it claims could be restored to service. It has also staged workshops in which operators and suppliers discussed ways of generating more intervention activity.
The work has led to more than 50 of the 200 wells coming back online, representing over 8 MMboe. Now the NSTA plans to approach other UK offshore operators to develop further well intervention opportunities.
The authority also wants operators to drill more new development wells on producing fields to achieve cost-effective production via in-place infrastructure. It adds that operators could make further savings by jointly organizing development well drilling campaigns on multiple fields.
Last year, UK operators invested £1.6 billion ($2.12 billion) in drilling 42 development wells, but current plans suggest just 44 development wells in total could be drilled between 2025 and 2027.
