North Sea oil output boost

ATTEMPTS to check the decline in North Sea oil and gas production appear to be paying off, a new survey says today in a major boost for the British economy.

The UK Offshore Operators Association said £9bn is likely to be spent on exploration, production and development work offshore this year - £600m more than in 2003.

Oil and gas output, originally forecast to fall 14% from last year's 3.8m barrels a day, is now set to drop by only around 7% - the first positive revision since 2000.

Production in the region is declining as mature fields run dry, but a host of international and UK start-up firms have begun exploration projects under Government incentives.

In December, the oil trade deficit hit its worst since the 1970s.