By Rita Brown
Energy Voice

BP's top boss said the oil major would double its North Sea production as he hailed the region as one of the company's crown jewels.â€

Bob Dudley sat down exclusively with Energy Voice in his first trip to Aberdeen since 2011.

The chief executive said: The North Sea is not only our backyard, it is one of four crown jewels.â€

The oil major will drill five exploration wells next year and 50 new development wells over the next three. Its production is also set to double by 2020 to 200,000 barrels of oil a day. The increase is in comparison to 2015's output figures.

The oil boss said: There's some hope on the exploration program, because any one of those wells or prospects could lead to yet another hub of development.

You will see portfolio changes for us in the North Sea, but you may see us invest in other projects as people approach us about joining them. So I think there's a mix, but we should double our production by 2020 from where it was in 2015.

We should be over 200,000 barrels a day in 2020 and by then I'm hopeful our exploration program will lead to more things to do.â€

The operator is expecting first oil from two of its major developments, Quad 204 early next year and Clair Ridge in 2018. It currently has two billion barrels of resource potential in the UKCS, split evenly between its planned production, discovered, and future prospects.

BP's production figures have steadily declined since its peak in 2000. However, 2015 marked the start of its five-year turnaround. Production will climb to 209,000 in 2020.

The global leader also dispelled the myth†that North Sea industry was over, insisting BP would be pumping oil until 2050.

The myth that the North Sea is finished is absolutely that. It's a wrong myth,†he said.

There's a demonstration of new activity and new big fields coming on stream. It's not just BP fields. There are others as well, so there's real economic activity that will support thousands of jobs. And there is an active exploration program that could create something really new and exciting. I think it will be ‘good' exciting not necessarily the silver bullet.

The reality is that the North Sea is a mature basin so some of the structural changes will stay.

I don't think we'll go back to the way it was at $100 oil. I just can't see tha...