By the OGJ Online Staff
LONDON, May 2 -- Harsh weather and the general decline in output from older UK North Sea fields coupled to reduce the country's oil and gas production in the first quarter, the Department of Trade & Industry reported Tuesday.
Production of oil and gas fell by 13.9% and 3.8%, respectively, compared with the same period last year, according to the DTI's Advanced Energy Statistics report. Overall, production of indigenous primary fuels, including coal, fell 8.4% to 74.6 million tonnes.
Total inland consumption of oil and gas, however, rose by 2.1% and 3.6% over the first 3 months of the year, when compared year-on-year.
Petroleum use, though, declined to 19.9 million tonnes, 2% lower than a year earlier. Deliveries of motor spirits were also down -- 3.9% -- with those of unleaded fuel falling 0.8%.
The DTI said the decline in deliveries was "assumed to be linked" to publicity surrounding the reduction in duty on ultra-low sulphur fuel in advance of the Labour government's March budget, whereas a spike in deliveries a year before had coincided with a tax hike on fuel.
Deliveries of Derv (diesel engined road vehicles) fuel were "virtually unchanged" from the same period a year ago while deliveries of other gas diesel oils, chiefly used for heating purposes, fell by 10.9%.
Fuel oil deliveries rose by 25% as oil-fired power stations reacted to higher gas prices, while deliveries of other products increased by 8%. Deliveries of aviation fuel increased 6.3%, burning oil 12.3%, and liquefied petroleum gases 1%.
