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The UK’s offshore and onshore energy resources are being developed by a wide range of companies spanning different sectors. These rich and abundant resources continue to attract new companies and investors from within the UK and overseas. 

Offshore production licences can be extended beyond their original expiry date if necessary to allow producing fields to fully exploit the associated reserves. 

The Offshore Safety Directive of 2013 (‘OSD’) was implemented in the UK by the Offshore Petroleum Licensing (Offshore Safety Directive) Regulations 2015 (‘the 2015 Regs’) and other regulations.

Licences fall into several categories. The principal distinctions are between onshore licences and offshore licences, with a further distinction between exploration licences.

The North Sea Transition Authority is committed to ensuring the economic recovery of UK oil and gas and to enabling the achievement of the UK Government’s commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

This page contains information regarding the Annual Consents Exercise (“ACE”) in the following sections: 

The NSTA grants licences that confer exclusive rights to ‘search and bore for and get petroleum’.

The total cost of decommissioning remaining UK offshore oil and gas production, transportation and processing infrastructure has reduced by 17%, on a like-for-like basis, to £49bn compared with a 2017 base-line estimate of £59.7bn