London — Shell plans to drill 10 wells a year offshore the UK as operator over the next three years, including development and exploration wells, as it builds its North Sea hubs and looks for West of Shetland opportunities, its UK and Ireland vice president Steve Phimister said Wednesday. Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes & personalize your experience. Register Now Phimister said Shell had recently taken on three new drilling units and was “optimistic” about exploration both in the central North Sea and the West of Shetland area. The 10 wells a year to be drilled would be a combination of development and exploration wells, he said on the sidelines of a conference. Europe’s oil and gas majors are mostly focusing their UK operations on the less mature West of Shetland area, particularly with the departure of their US counterparts, but all retain assets in the core North […]