British offshore oil and natural gas reserves will stop providing a return on investments if costs continue to rise, an industry report said Tuesday. Oil and Gas U.K., the British industry body, published its annual report Tuesday showing there may be as much as 24 billion barrels of oil equivalent left offshore, but it may require more than $1.6 trillion in investments to exploit. It warned that operating costs on the British continental shelf were 60 percent higher than they were in 2011. “If the current trend of rising cost continues, the British continental shelf will cease to provide a healthy return on investment and we’ll feel the brunt through falling levels of activity” Oil and Gas U.K. Chief Executive Officer Malcomb Webb said in a statement. The British economy […]