Natural gas in the UK - statistics & facts
Natural gas serves a major role in the energy supply industry. Formed underground over millions of years by plant and animal matter decaying, natural gas has been successfully used as an energy source since the 19th century. However, due to it mainly consisting of methane gas, natural gas burning contributes to global warming. Continuing research in large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) deployment hopes to circumvent this issue.
In terms of enterprise figures, the number of enterprises in the crude petroleum and natural gas extraction industry with a turnover of more than 5 million British pounds decreased to 40 enterprises in 2017 and has stayed constant since.
Production output in decline
In the UK, natural gas production has slowly been decreasing. With the government having halted hydraulic fracturing in the North of England following concerns from the public, natural gas production largely relies on offshore gas fields from the North Sea. Some 39.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas are extracted from wells every year. This compares to proved reserves of 200 billion cubic meters. The UK imports most of natural gas via pipelines connected to oil- and gas fields in Norway.Natural gas consumption and prices
Natural gas consumption has seen slight fluctuations in the last few years, amounting to around 80 billion cubic meters in the last few years. Major power producers paid a quarterly average between 0.92 pence and 1.46 pence per kilowatt hour on natural gas in 2020. Coal still remains the cheapest fossil fuel type, with prices up to 0.5 pence per kilowatt hour lower.In terms of enterprise figures, the number of enterprises in the crude petroleum and natural gas extraction industry with a turnover of more than 5 million British pounds decreased to 40 enterprises in 2017 and has stayed constant since.
