The North Sea is mostly renowned for its oil and gas industry, however it also supplies most countries in Northern Europe with fish. There are over 230 different species living in its waters, and commercially fished strains include; Mackerel, Haddock, Plaice, Sole, and Cod. The North Sea itself is one of the most frequently traversed seas in the world and the two of the worlds largest ports are located in its coasts. These conflicting and intensive uses we place on the North Sea create a challenge to us in maintaining a virile and balanced eco-system.
Most people consider oil in the region to have been discovered within the last 35 years; however it was way back in 1859 when the oil was first struck, in the Southern North Sea Basin above North Germany after initially drilling for coal. This oil find kick started the German oil industry, up until 1890 a further 100 well were drilled, of which 60 produced oil. Natural Gas was then discovered in the North Sea shortly after in 1910.
Then in August 1959 after five relatively quiet decades, a well drilled by Shell & Esso in Groningen, the Netherlands literally changed the Oil and Gas industry in Europe over night. The immense size of the Groningen field was soon realized. Geologists calculated it to be some twenty miles long with a capacity of 6 billion cubic feet per day, making it one of the largest gas fields in the world. After this huge discovery, commercial exploration in the North Sea truly got started.
In 1965 five major gas discoveries totaling some 20 trillium cubic feet were found, enough to saturate the entire UK monopoly market. By 1969 seismic ships were scouring the North Sea for oil, and then the Phillips Petroleum Company made the second biggest discovery in North Sea history, the fist billion barrel oil field, 'Ekofisk Field' in Norwegian waters.
The North Sea is sometimes considered to be a deep sea area; however it is actually relatively shallow. The depth increases from less than 30 meters in the South to around 200 meters in the North. The exception to this is a small area of the North Sea called the Norwegian Trench which cuts through the North-Western part of the sea and is up to 700 meters deep in the area called the Skagerrak.
The popular view is that the UK's share of North Sea oil is in decline, with energy reserves diminishing rapidly about 35 years after the oilfields were first exploited. There is however a growing body of opinion that suggests that proven oil reserves have been underestimated Consistently.
Up to 37 billion barrels of oil have now been extracted from the UK's continental shelf, with an estimated 25.5 billion barrels remaining. Many Oil experts believe that the remaining reserves exceed current estimate by as much as one fifth. With the advent of new 'smart-drill' technology, and the ever spiraling price of oil, it is now economically viable to drill fields, once considered too difficult or too remote.
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