The chief executive of Oil & Gas UK has welcomed the first increase in production on the UK continental shelf for over 15 years. Deirdre Michie, however, warned the industry will be "extremely challenged" to sustain growth in 2016, BBC reported. Oil & Gas UK said oil and gas production increased by 7% in the past 12 months. "Government data for the first 10 months of 2015 shows that the total volume of oil and gas produced on the UK continental shelf was up 8.6% compared with 2014, with the production of liquids up 10.6% and gas up 6.1%," it said. "In February 2015, we predicted a marginal increase in production for 2015, but the industry-wide focus on improving production efficiency coupled with investments of more than £50 billion over the last four years to bring new fields on stream across the last 12 months is paying off and yielding a better result." Michie added that there will be job losses in the industry in 2016, but the UK continental shelf still holds great importance.
