In the 1980s and 1990s the North Sea emerged as a key non-OPEC oil producing province. Yet today overall production is declining, in both the British and Norwegian sectors and the big oil companies and investors are losing interest in what they now see as a mature province. But apparent maturity...

In response to the structural shift in oil price coupled with greater import dependency, concerns about security of supply have once again emerged as a major policy issue. The UK, the largest producer of oil and natural gas in the European Union, became a net importer of natural gas in 2004,...