by westoncompliance | Oct 27, 2026 | DESNZ, Licensing, NSTA, Regulatory Process, UK
The NSTA has published a letter from DESNZ, dated 21 October 2026 , regarding an update on petroleum licensing.This letter states that the Government plans to end new oil and gas exploration licences while introducing Transitional Energy Certificates (TECs) as part of...
by westoncompliance | Oct 27, 2026 | Carbon Capture and Storage, Licensing, NSTA, Stewardship, Surveying, UK
The NSTA 2026 Carbon Storage Stewardship Survey launches on Monday 2 November 2026, and closes on Friday 29 January 2027.The 2026 Carbon Storage Stewardship Survey (CSSS) is to be completed by the operators of all UK carbon storage licences. This survey only requests...
by westoncompliance | Aug 17, 2026 | Decommissioning, NSTA, UK, Wells
The NSTA has signed a charter with 17 operators to support a more efficient approach to subsea wellhead removals, with signatories agreeing to share data, expertise, resources and vessel opportunities. Using vessels instead of rigs for final wellhead removal could...
by westoncompliance | Aug 17, 2026 | NSTA, Reportable occurrences, UK, Wells
The NSTA has published its 2026 Wells Insights Report, highlighting trends in UK Continental Shelf drilling and well activity. Development drilling fell by around 24% in 2025, with 38 development wellbores drilled and expenditure remaining stable at £1.6 billion....
by westoncompliance | Aug 11, 2026 | Marine, NSTA, UK
The MMO has published a Marine Planning Glossary on GOV.UK, providing definitions and explanations of key terminology used in marine planning and decision-making. Read more… Source:Â MMO.
by westoncompliance | Aug 6, 2026 | NSTA, UK
The NSTA has reported that North Sea operators improved production efficiency to 76% in 2025 by reducing unplanned shutdowns and managing maintenance more effectively, resulting in an additional 21,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day – more than 7.5 million extra...
by westoncompliance | Jul 30, 2026 | Carbon Capture and Storage, CO2, NSTA, Pipelines, Supply Chain, Transport, UK
The NSTA has published two commissioned studies on the challenges of transporting carbon dioxide through offshore pipelines. The reports conclude that there are no significant hardware barriers to building new COâ‚‚ pipelines, while providing guidance on assessing the...
by westoncompliance | Jul 17, 2026 | Carbon Capture and Storage, NSTA, Permits and Licences, Renewables, UK
The NSTA has published three sets of new documents intended to guide carbon storage licensees when dealing with CS requirements and approvals:- Guidance for Carbon Storage Commissioning Plans- Guidance on the Content of an Offshore Carbon Storage Site Management Plan-...
by westoncompliance | Jul 10, 2026 | Carbon Capture and Storage, Data, NSTA, UK, Wind Energy
The NSTA has significantly improved access to its National Data Repository by introducing AI-powered search and plain-language tagging, enabling users to find vital offshore data in seconds rather than hours. Covering more than one million files from the 1960s to...
by westoncompliance | Jun 29, 2026 | Emissions, NSTA, Production consent, UK, Venting
The NSTA has launched the Annual Consents Exercise (ACE) 2027, with applications opening from 29 June 2026 for production, flaring and venting consents that will take effect from 1 January 2027. The process ensures UK Continental Shelf operators have the approvals...
by westoncompliance | May 14, 2026 | Licensing, NSTA, Production consent, Reporting, Tax, UK
The NSTA has updated its approach to Cessation of Production (CoP) reporting, replacing the previous process retired in November 2022 with a more formal notification framework for licensees. The revised guidance now introduces clearer reporting requirements,...
by westoncompliance | Apr 29, 2026 | DESNZ, NSTA, Regulatory Process, Reporting, UK
The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero is legally required to ensure that the NSTA is subject to a review at least every 3 years to assess how effective the NSTA has been in exercising its functions, and consider...
by westoncompliance | Mar 10, 2026 | Carbon Capture and Storage, Emissions, Energy Security, Hydrogen, NSTA, Renewables, UK
The NSTA has published its 2026 overview, which provides information about the UK’s offshore energy industry and the NSTA’s role in securing energy production, reducing emissions and accelerating the transition.Read more…Source: NSTA.
by westoncompliance | Mar 10, 2026 | DESNZ, NSTA, Scottish Government, UK, Welsh Government
The NSTA works collaboratively with Government and industry to deliver its principal objective. The NSTA has updated two of its Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) agreed with government or other public bodies:Memorandum of Understanding between the Scottish Government,...
by westoncompliance | Mar 3, 2026 | Fees, HMSO, NSTA, UK
This UK statutory instrument sets out the levy and fee framework for the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), establishing how and what charges companies must pay to the OGA for regulatory activities and functions related to oil and gas exploration and production; it details...
by westoncompliance | Mar 3, 2026 | Carbon Capture and Storage, Consultation, Fees, NSTA, Permits and Licences, Regulatory Process, UK
The NSTA published its response to the consultation on proposed new and amended fees for services related to carbon storage and petroleum/gas storage consents, after receiving four responses (mostly supportive with some concerns).It confirmed it will recommend that...
by westoncompliance | Mar 3, 2026 | Carbon Capture and Storage, Continental Shelf, NSTA, UK
The NSTA has published maps which show areas of the North Sea considered to be of interest for future carbon storage appraisal activity.These maps rate the different geographic areas of the UK Continental Shelf according to their relative potential for...
by westoncompliance | Feb 25, 2026 | Carbon Capture and Storage, Data, Decommissioning, NSTA, Renewables, UK
The NSTA has launched a new free text search function in the National Data Repository, making it faster and easier for users across industry, academia and government to find relevant information within more than 1.1 million files.Using AI and plain-language tagging,...
by westoncompliance | Feb 18, 2026 | Decommissioning, NSTA, Reporting, UK
The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has published the UKCS Decommissioning Benchmarking Report 2025, providing comparison data that benchmarks a wide range of UKCS decommissioning activities.Read more…Source: NSTA.
by westoncompliance | Feb 16, 2026 | Data, Emissions, NSTA, Technology, UK
The NSTA has published a Data and Digital Strategy 2026 – 2030 that sets out how it will modernise and harness data and digital technology to support UK offshore energy regulation, improve access to information, strengthen digital infrastructure, and drive...
