Hundreds of tonnes of climate-warming methane is being released into the atmosphere by the UK’s longest continuously producing onshore oil well, despite curbs ordered by the environmental regulator.
Follow onshore oil production trends with our review of the latest official monthly data
Key figures Daily production: 14,399.66 barrels per dayWeight: 58,472.4 tonnesVolume: 70,967 m3Volume of onshore as a proportion of UK total oil production: 1.80%
Researchers have discovered significant emissions of methane, the powerful and invisible greenhouse gas, at onshore oil sites across England.
Annual UK onshore oil production has fallen to its lowest level since 2011.
UK onshore oil production fell in 2019 to its lowest point for eight years, official data has revealed.
UK onshore oil production fell to a seven-year low in 2018, according to official data.
A small oil well on the world heritage coast in Dorset is legally allowed to emit hundreds of tonnes of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, annually direct into the atmosphere.
The short answer is not many companies sank wells anywhere onshore in 2015. The number of oil and gas wells drilled in the UK in 2015 was the lowest for almost 40 years.
The latest government information shows five onshore oil and gas wells were completed in the UK in first half of 2015. This is two fewer than for the same time last year and four down on 2013.
DRILL OR DROP? 