Greetings.
I wanted to ask a question about British North Sea oil.
From time to time I see a VLCC for Fawley on this site.
And my question is sort of related to that.
But before I ask my question, I would like to give a few stats,
Which I hope will explain the reason for my question.
Since 2006 Britain has more oil than what is produced in the North sea.
BUT these imports are about 60 % of Britains' needs..Despite the fact that the British North sea produces enough oil for about 94% of britains' needs..
So, the question is
Why the huge gap??
Why is Britain importing 60 % and not 5-6 % of it's oil.
Why aren't refineries in Britain processing this oil??
Is it because of Enviromental reasons?
Or is there some Economic gain in selling this oil, i.e does it make the balance of payements look good and make Sterling a stronger currency?? Is it to do with having good foreign reserves of Currency??? Is the imported oil cheaper than the Brent crude??? Which I understand to be a nice blend of oil?
I was struggling to understand, as we are hearing bad economic tidings across the whole of Europe. It just doesn't make sense that oil refineries are not built to handle this oil..
It would create thousands of well paid jobs..Or would it lead to higher petrol prices and a recession??
And lastly where does Britain export this oil to?? And where does the refined oil come from.
And why are refineries in Europe, closing Down.
Phew , that's a lot of questions..But it was just something I thought of.
I know people follow ship traffic on here..So somebody should know of the economics behind it all.