Oil & Gas
Marcel Kooter
EXPLORING THE UK
CONTINENTAL SHELF

EXPLORING THE
UK Continental Shelf
The United Kingdom Continental Shelf is the water
region surrounding the country where the UK has
rights to mineral production.
T
he UKCS spans the Irish Sea,
the English Channel, the Nor-
th Atlantic and the North Sea.
There are vast reserves of oil and gas
in the UKCS. In the North Sea region,
the shallowness of the water facilitates
wind farms and offshore drilling.

Responsibility for Mineral Rights
The Oil and Gas Authority holds responsibi-
lity for UK Continental Shelf mineral rights.
The OGA is part of the BEIS, which is the body
that awards oil companies with licences for
the production of hydrocarbons in the UKCS.
These licences denote defined areas and re-
gulate maximum production volumes over
pre-determined time periods.
Division
The UKCS is split into a series of rectangular
quadrants which are numbered and subdi-
vided into blocks. Each quadrant measures
one degree longitude by one degree latitude.
Each block measures 12 minutes longitude by
10 minutes latitude.
The 31st licensing round for the North Sea region
of the UKCS took place in 2018.

You can find out more
about this by visiting
the blog of Marcel
Kooter.
Marcel Kooter