The UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) is the region of waters surrounding the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, in which the country claims mineral rights. This principally refers to the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

, where there are large resources of hydrocarbon

Hydrocarbon

In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons from which one hydrogen atom has been removed are functional groups, called hydrocarbyls....

s. The North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

 is also bordered by Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

, Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and The Netherlands. A median line, setting out the domains of each of these nations was established by mutual agreement between them.

Responsibility for the UKCS rests with the Department of Energy and Climate Change

Department of Energy and Climate Change

The Department of Energy and Climate Change is a British government department created on 3 October 2008 by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take over some of the functions of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs...

 (DECC), which awards licences to oil companies to produce hydrocarbon

Hydrocarbon

In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons from which one hydrogen atom has been removed are functional groups, called hydrocarbyls....

s from specific areas and regulates how much they can produce over what period.

The UKCS is divided into rectangular blocks, numbered from the North-West going East, then South. These blocks are then further subdivided. This then forms the block number for a particular development. For example, the Harding oilfield

Harding oilfield

The Harding oilfield is a small oil field operated by BP, in the North Sea block 9/23b, approximately North-East of Aberdeen and in of water.-Discovery and development:...

, which resides in a fairly northern position, is in block 9, subdivision 23, denoted "9/23" (9/23b specifically to differentiate it from the Gryphon oilfield).

External links

• Oil and Gas - DECC website concerned with energy production on the UKCS
• UK Promote - DECC website marketing opportunities on the UKCS.