Guidance

Energy Security Bill factsheet: Offshore oil and gas (habitats assessment and emergency pollution planning and response)

Updated 1 September 2023

The Bill measure would enable existing legislation to be updated ensuring that the offshore oil and gas environmental regulatory regime (“the offshore O&G environmental regime”) maintains high standards in respect to habitats protection and pollution response; keeps pace with developing technologies such as offshore CO2 storage and facilitates the offshore hydrocarbon sector’s transition to net zero.

Why are we legislating?

The primary powers in the Bill would enable BEIS’ Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (“OPRED”) to make changes (via secondary legislation) to the current offshore O&G environmental regime - a large part of which is essentially ‘frozen’ following the repeal of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 at the end of the Implementation Period. Amendments would principally be made to existing regulations under OPRED’s offshore regime that relate to habitats protection and pollution response. The intention is also to extend the legislative requirements to new technological developments such as offshore hydrogen production and storage.

How the Bill will achieve this

The Bill measure would ensure that there are powers in connection with offshore energy activities involving oil and gas, gas unloading & storage, CO2 storage, and hydrogen production & storage to provide for habitats protection for protected sites / species and emergency plans for responding to pollution incidents (such as a major oil spill)^{[footnote 1]} - matters which fall within OPRED’s regulatory remit and apply to the UK’s territorial waters and Continental Shelf.

Future changes would be to existing sets of regulations dealing with habitats protection and pollution response - for instance, the Offshore Petroleum Activities (Conservation of Habitats) Regulations 2001 (“the Offshore Habitats Regulations”)[2] and the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation Convention) Regulations 1998 (“the OPRC Regulations”)[3] - which underpin the offshore O&G environmental regime. Some examples of possible legislative changes are:

• The Offshore Habitats Regulations - extending the provisions to cover offshore hydrogen production & storage operations; or incorporating provisions to be able to appoint Inspectors to monitor and investigate compliance with consents.
• The OPRC Regulations - extending the provisions to cover offshore gas unloading & storage, CO2 storage, and hydrogen production & storage operations; incorporating amendments to improve the efficiency or effectiveness of the regulations, for instance, allowing joint Oil Pollution Emergency Plans covering multiple offshore installations and wells (connected and disconnected); or changing the fees provisions to reflect adjustments to OPRED’s charging rates and any new regulatory aspects which may be chargeable.

Ensuring a fair, proportionate and effective enforcement regime for the environmental regulation of all offshore hydrocarbon activities is a key priority. Therefore, in addition to the potential changes outlined above, this may require: (a) the creation, where warranted, of new criminal offences (i.e. expanding the scope of existing offences or increasing penalties, to ensure there are no gaps or anomalies); and (b) the use, where apposite, of civil sanctions as an alternative to criminal offences.

Background

OPRED intends to use the Bill’s powers to make future secondary legislation which would ensure that the offshore O&G environmental regime continues to be effective. The existing regime also needs to appropriately address the challenges of new offshore activities such as CO2 storage and hydrogen production & storage. The powers would enable OPRED to maintain high environmental standards and facilitate the offshore oil and gas sector’s transition to net zero.

Further information

The following documents are relevant to the measure and can be read at the stated location:

• OPRED’s Offshore oil and gas environmental regulatory regime

1. General assessment of environmental outcomes in connection with consenting to relevant offshore activities is being addressed separately in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. ↩