The North Sea oil and gas industry enters 2021 picking up the pieces after a vertiginous price collapse, but with an optimism that it has more to give as new companies, projects and exploration help navigate the energy transition. Despite warnings in April from industry group Oil & Gas UK of a “body blow” to the sector as companies scaled back activity and spending, the industry emerges from 2020 having broadly maintained production, and encouraged by recent oil price rises as well as government backing. Asian appetite for North Sea crude has rebounded, with Norway’s new flagship crude, Johan Sverdrup, now a mainstay for China’s independent refiners. UK oil output suffered somewhat in 2020, falling 6% over the first […]