The Energy Act 2016 (the ‘Act’) gives the NSTA the power to attend and participate in certain ‘relevant’ external meetings (including videoconferences and teleconferences) between different companies operating in the UK continental shelf.

The Statutory Meetings Notice sets out the powers given to the NSTA by the Act and the related obligations that the Act places on industry.

In summary, the Act obliges industry to inform the NSTA in advance of these meetings, provide the NSTA with documentation and, if the NSTA does not attend, provide it with a written summary of the relevant parts of the meeting.

This power is not about intervening in everyday conversations or attending internal meetings. The main purpose of the Notice is to limit the external meetings in which the NSTA may wish to participate and thus to which the obligations on industry apply.