North Sea - Old Oil Field. New Investment Ventures.

(Oil rigs on North Sea)

The North Sea, which has played a prominent role throughout history of the Hanseatic League, for trade and transportation of good between various countries. For many decades the North Sea is also one of the most prominently mined seas for oil in the world but will it be for long? While oil companies and investors have pulled out from drilling new wells within the last few years, it seems that oil companies are now green-lighting new expeditions to drill in the North Sea. Due to rising oil prices and newer technologies it seems oil companies would like to invest in several North Sea oil production projects starting in 2018. Over the last half decade, the Northern Sea has only seen about seventeen projects between the years 2014 and 2017. This year will bring about a rise of an estimated twelve to sixteen projects that will be sanctioned. That translates to roughly $7 billion in spending on oil production in this area. 

North Sea being a mature oil basin has been on a steady decline from the 1970's when oil production in this area was at its prime, this was mainly due to over picked oil fields. As mentioned earlier rising oil prices in the EU and newer technology having the capability to return to older oil fields are the central driving points for more drilling in the North Sea. Experts estimate that these new projects will produce a 5% increase in oil production this year. Drilling long term in the North Sea while previously thought to be on the track to depletion, could also mean higher oil prices due to the amount of spending needed to drill for years beyond 2020. 

Resources:

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/North-Sea-Oil-Has-Escaped-Its-Death-Spiral.html

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-5524173/Oil-price-rise-sparks-North-Sea-bonanza.html