ONS figures show fall in oil industry extraction activity

The latest output figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show a fall in extraction activity in the UK oil industry between June 2009 and 2010.

Over the full year, oil and gas extraction dropped by 10.9 per cent, the ONS figures show.

This was part of an overall fall in mining activity of 9.7 per cent over the same period.

Comparing the two figures, the ONS reveals that the reduced output from the oil industry represents 10.4 percentage points of the fall in mining and quarrying activity - the single largest contributor.

The statistics are part of a wider decline over the past year that saw the utilities sector - comprising gas, water and electricity - fall by 2.4 per cent in terms of output.

A contribution of 2.6 percentage points to this figure from electricity supply output proved the single largest factor.

The Index of Production series from the ONS measures output for mining, manufacturing and energy supply compared with base year prices.