The UK’s offshore energy regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), has revealed that 56 North Sea wells returned to production last year, with more cost-efficient well interventions helping operators deliver 16 million barrels of oil (boe) from shut-in wells on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).
The NSTA’s ‘2026 Wells Insight Report’ has outlined that the total well stock on the UK Continental Shelf stood at 2,298 wells, 7% down on the previous year, with 1,439 operating, 558 shut-in and 301 plugged, while North Sea operators produced an extra 16 million barrels of oil from 56 reinstated wells in 2025, as they focused on well interventions, which boosted production and efficiency.
The North Sea Transition Authority claims that the success of this campaign has been supported by a significant improvement in intervention efficiency, with the cost per barrel of oil equivalent added decreasing from £9.60 ($12.96)/boe in 2024 to £7.60 ($10.26)/boe in 2025.
Based on the regulator’s data, a total of 398 well interventions were carried out during the year. With a focus on energy production, the NSTA has been working closely with licensees, first to identify which shut-in wells could potentially be reinstated, and then to support them in undertaking the necessary work.
Britain’s regulator underlines that there are still more than 500 shut-in wells, and even though many will be decommissioned, there remain opportunities for a significant number to be brought back on stream and contributing to UK production.
The NSTA intends to continue its engagement with leading operators to identify potential reinstatement opportunities, since the report presents a mixed picture of well activity, as the year saw 38 development wells, including six mechanical sidetracks drilled, with expenditure remaining steady at £1.6 billion ($2.2 billion).
The North Sea Transition Authority highlights that the total drilled length increased from 162 kilometers in 2024 to 177 kilometers in 2025 and the average cost was reduced slightly from £10,135 ($13,682) per meter to £10,000 ($13,504). Exploration and appraisal activity declined with operators drilling three appraisal wells and no exploration wells in 2025, compared with three of each the previous year.
Keith Hogg, NSTA Wells Manager, commented: “The NSTA is fully committed in supporting industry to boost cost-effective production, so it is welcome to see that the time and resource we put into encouraging well interventions has paid off with an extra 16 million barrels produced.
“But a fall in the overall number of interventions and decline in E&A drilling, combined with rising rig costs points to a concerning loss of skills and resource. This all means it remains vital that operators engage with the supply chain and commit to investing in wells.”
The report forecasts that 32 exploration and appraisal wells could be drilled between 2026 and 2028, broken down into five in 2026, 12 in 2027, and 15 in 2028, with 14 of those wells expected to be in the Central North Sea, eight in the Southern North Sea and East Irish Sea, seven in the Northern North Sea, and three West of Shetland.
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