North Sea Transition Authority publishes Corporate Plan for next five years

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), formerly known as the UK Oil & Gas Authority, has published its Corporate Plan, outlining its priority areas for the next five years (2022-2027).

The Corporate Plan sets out how the NSTA will support the industry and how it will put its strategy into action. It provides a clear operational framework allowing the NSTA to adapt to changing circumstances and identifies key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure success and hold industry to account.

“This Corporate Plan demonstrates the NSTA’s ongoing intent to lead with purpose, ensuring the U.K. oil and gas industry plays a crucial role in delivering net zero while bolstering the country’s energy resilience,” Dr. Andy Samuel, NSTA CEO, said.

To deliver the plan, the NSTA will use its regulatory powers and growing range of capabilities. These include petroleum licensing rounds — taking into account the climate compatibility checkpoint, stewardship of new and existing production, management of consents, guidance and expectations, and benchmarking and monitoring.

The previous plan was produced in 2019 and since then the NSTA has revised its strategy to fully incorporate net zero into its work, alongside optimizing domestic production of oil and gas in the interest of energy security.

Additionally, the U.K. upstream oil and gas industry is allocating more time and resources to lowering its carbon footprint, while continuing to provide secure supplies of oil and gas, with the organization’s support.

There is a firm focus on realizing targets agreed in the North Sea Transition Deal, including halving production emissions and eliminating routine flaring by 2030, and making sure 50% of investment in new UKCS energy projects goes to UK suppliers.

The NSTA will also work closely with government, industry and other regulators on North Sea energy integration. The organization said it expects to see real progress on electrification, with at least two projects to be commissioned by 2027. It will also run the U.K.’s first carbon storage licensing round to support the capture of 20-30 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030.

The NSTA also shares high-quality data via its digital energy platform and promotes good environmental, social and governance standards to unlock value, encourage investment and support jobs.

Importantly, the Corporate Plan emphasizes the company’s values, which requires it to be accountable, considerate, fair and robust. These apply as much to engagement with external stakeholders, as within the organization, which will continue to be a great place to work.