The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), known as the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) until March 2022, is a

private company limited by shares A private company limited by shares is a class of private limited company incorporated under the laws of English law, England and Wales, Northern Irish law, Northern Ireland, Scots law, Scotland, certain Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth c ...

wholly owned by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. It is responsible for maximising the economic recovery of

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

from the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

. It is empowered to license and regulate activity in relation to oil and gas in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, including

oil and gas exploration Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for deposits of hydrocarbons, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth using petroleum geology. Exploration methods Vis ...

carbon capture and storage Carbon capture and storage (CCS) or carbon capture and sequestration is the process of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) before it enters the atmosphere, transporting it, and storing it (carbon sequestration) for centuries or millennia. Usually th ...

, and offshore gas storage. The NSTA’s role is to take the steps necessary to: Established in April 2015 as an

executive agency An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or N ...

of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on 1 October 2016 the Oil and Gas Authority was incorporated as a Government Company, with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy the sole shareholder and headquartered in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

with another office in London, which is also its registered company address. As of the 6 March 2019,

Tim Eggar Timothy John Crommelin Eggar (born 19 December 1951) is a British businessman and former politician. He holds positions on the boards of multiple organisations including Shiplake College and Cape plc, and was the Conservative MP for Enfield ...

is the chair.

History

In June 2013, the

UK government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

asked Sir Ian Wood of

Wood Group John Wood Group plc, commonly known as Wood, is a British multinational engineering and consulting business with headquarters in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange as well as being a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. ...

to conduct a review into maximising the recovery of oil and gas from the

UK Continental Shelf The UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) is the region of waters surrounding the United Kingdom, in which the country has mineral rights. The UK continental shelf includes parts of the North Sea, the North Atlantic, the Irish Sea and the English Channel; t ...

. One of the recommendations of the

Wood Review Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

was the creation of an independent

economic regulator A regulatory agency (regulatory body, regulator) or independent agency (independent regulatory agency) is a government authority that is responsible for exercising autonomous dominion over some area of human activity in a licensing and regulatin ...

for the sector. Subsequently the OGA was launched on 1 April 2015 as an

of the

Department of Energy and Climate Change The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom created on 3 October 2008, by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take over some of the functions related to energy of the Department for Busin ...

. The Energy Act 2016, which received Royal Assent in May 2016, created the legislative framework to formally establish the OGA as a government company, limited by shares under the Companies Act 2006, with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy the sole shareholder. The Energy Act 2016 also provided the OGA with new regulatory powers, including the ability to participate in meetings with operators, to have access to data, provide dispute resolution and introduce a range of sanctions such as enforcement notices and fines of up to £1 million. On the 6 March 2019, Frances Morris-Jones was replaced by Tim Eggar as the chairman of the authority.

Fracking

On 1 November 2019, following a report from the Oil and Gas Authority, the government called a halt to all

fracking Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of bedrock formations by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "frac ...

in the UK "with immediate effect" and warned shale gas companies that it would not support future projects.

Corporate information

Name

On 1 July 2015, ''Oil and Gas Authority Limited'' was incorporated as a private limited company in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

under the

Companies Act 2006 The Companies Act 2006 (c 46) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which forms the primary source of UK company law. The Act was brought into force in stages, with the final provision being commenced on 1 October 2009. It largely ...

, although following incorporation it remained dormant for

financial year A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...

2015-2016. Pursuant to the

Energy Act 2016 The Energy Act 2016 (c. 20) is a UK Act of Parliament relating to UK enterprise law and energy in the UK. It created a new Oil and Gas Authority, meaning that a quango rather than a government minister deals with the oil and gas industry. Conte ...

, ''Oil and Gas Authority Limited'' was renamed ''Oil and Gas Authority'' on 12 July 2016''.'' Under the Companies Act 2006, private limited companies are required to include the word "limited" in their names unless exempted; the Energy Act 2016 provided for such an exemption, which

came into force In law, coming into force or entry into force (also called commencement) is the process by which legislation, regulations, treaties and other legal instruments come to have legal force and effect. The term is closely related to the date of this t ...

on 12 July 2016. On 21 March 2022, the Oil and Gas Authority adopted the

trading name A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...

of ''North Sea Transition Authority'', although its legal name remains unchanged. In a

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

debate on 29 March 2022, Caroline Lucas accused the government of

greenwashing Greenwashing (a compound word modeled on " whitewash"), also called "green sheen", is a form of advertising or marketing spin in which green PR and green marketing are deceptively used to persuade the public that an organization's products, aim ...

over the change of name. Following this, on 31 March 2022,

Greg Hands Gregory William Hands (born 14 November 1965) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chelsea and Fulham, previously Hammersmith and Fulham, since 2005. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as ...

, Minister for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change, said in a written statement to the House of Commons that " e new name better represents the breadth of work it now undertakes and its pivotal role in supporting the UK upstream oil and gas industry to achieve net zero emissions."

Functions, powers, and property

Under Part 1 of the Energy Act 2016, function, powers, and property of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy may be transferred to the Oil and Gas Authority by way of statutory instrument.

Personnel

Part 1 of the Energy Act also provides for the Secretary of State to transfer staff working for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to the Oil and Gas Authority. Since 2015, Andy Samuel has been

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

, and since 2019

has been chairman of the board. In September 2021 Greenpeace reported that eight of the OGA's 13 board members and senior managers previously worked in the industry, and three held sizeable shareholdings in oil firms. The OGA said their knowledge was vital in helping to regulate the sector.

Ownership

Oil and Gas Authority has one

ordinary share Common stock is a form of corporate equity ownership, a type of security. The terms voting share and ordinary share are also used frequently outside of the United States. They are known as equity shares or ordinary shares in the UK and other Comm ...

, which since 2016 has been owned by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Every subsequent confirmation statement has shown no shareholder changes.See Confirmation statements filed for Oil and Gas Authority for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 a
Companies House

Notes

References

External links

Official website

Wood Review website
Department of Energy and Climate Change Executive agencies of the United Kingdom government Regulators of the United Kingdom Energy regulatory authorities Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy {{UK-gov-stub