MAJOR new North Sea oil projects could be shelved as a result of plummeting prices, a leading industry analyst has warned.

James Webb, of global energy consultants Wood Mackenzie, said 32 untapped fields in the North Sea and across Europe were at risk if prices stayed below 80 dollars per barrel.

The benchmark price of Brent crude settled at 62 dollars per barrel at the end of last week, down 45 per cent since June.

Nearly three quarters of the new fields require a price of 60 dollars per barrel if oil companies are just to break even, Mr Webb said.

He added: "Major projects and investment in the UK and across continental and Mediterranean Europe could be at risk if prices stay below 80 dollars per barrel."

The 32 projects he identified are awaiting the green light on investment that would total £55billion.

The warning came as the head of OPEC said yesterday the exporting bloc had no target price for oil.

Abdullah al-Badri's comments were taken as a sign OPEC had no plans to change its policy of maintaining present production levels.

The stance has driven the recent sharp falls in the price of crude. Prices are expected to fall further next year, as supplies remain plentiful.

The news follows recent warnings of job losses in the UK oil industry.

North Sea output is expected to rise in the final quarter of the year. However total output the year is expected to average out at 840,000 barrels per day, the lowest level since 1977.

Calculations by UK Government economists, published yesterday, suggested the government of an independent Scotland would have faced a £12.6billion black hole in its finances between 2016 and 2019, the first three years after Alex Salmond planned to declare independence.

The figure was based on oil commanding a price of 65 dollars per barrel.

The SNP's blueprint for independence, including a pledge to provide free full-time childcare, was based on an oil price of 110 dollars per barrel.

The SNP has dismissed concerns over the falling price of oil, insisting prices were expected to bounce back by 2016.

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