Guidance

Oil and gas: onshore exploration and production

Publications, guidance and data including mapping, seismic activity, wells, and licensing and regulation for onshore oil and gas.

From:
Oil and Gas Authority
Published
22 January 2013
Last updated
30 June 2016 — See all updates

This guidance was withdrawn on

The Oil & Gas Authority launched a new website on 3 October 2016 to reflect its new status as a government company.

This formalises the transfer of the Secretary of State’s regulatory powers in respect of oil and gas to the OGA, and grants it new powers. This website will no longer be updated. Visitors should refer to www.ogauthority.co.uk

On 1st April 2015 certain functions passed from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) a newly created Executive Agency of DECC

Overview

Information, publications, guidance and data relating to onshore exploration and production, including mapping, seismic activity, wells, and licensing and regulation.

Policy information on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and shale gas can be found on the Developing Shale Gas and Oil in the UK page

14th Landward Licensing Round

On 17 December 2015, the Oil & Gas Authority (OGA) announced that licences for a total of 159 blocks were formally offered to successful applicants under the 14th Onshore Oil and Gas Licensing Round. .

Mapping

Onshore reports

Latest

Archived

Seismic and wells

Development

Licensing

Regulations

Oil and gas well discoveries since 1982

Extended well tests and Hydraulic Fracture Plan

Resumption of shale gas exploration

Hydraulic fracturing operations for shale gas in the UK have been suspended since May 2011, pending the investigation of two seismic tremors experienced near Preese Hall, Lancashire during fracking operations.

In the light of the recommendations of a panel of independent experts, of comments received in response to a public consultation, and of the recommendations of an authoritative review of the scientific and engineering evidence on shale gas extraction made by the UK’s science and engineering academies, the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Secretary of State for Energy has announced the introduction of new regulatory requirements to ensure that seismic risks are effectively mitigated.

Read the Secretary of State’s statement to Parliament . Subject to these new requirements, DECC is prepared in principle to consider new applications for consent to such operations, and the suspension is therefore lifted. As before, final consent to any well or well operations is dependent on confirmation that all other necessary permits and consents have been obtained. A wide range of other issues were raised in the responses to the public consultation, and DECC together with other relevant bodies has prepared a full Q&A brief on these issues, which can be found below.

The full Government response to the recommendations made on the scientific and engineering evidence by the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering can be found below:

Background

On 1 April and 27 May 2011 two earthquakes with magnitudes 2.3 and 1.5 were felt in the Blackpool area. These earthquakes were suspected to be linked to hydraulic fracture treatments at the Preese Hall well operated by Cuadrilla Resources Ltd. The hydraulic fracture treatments were carried out during exploration of a shale gas reservoir in the Bowland basin. As a result of the earthquakes, operations were suspended at Preese Hall and Cuadrilla Resources Ltd were requested to undertake a full technical study into the relationship between the earthquakes and their operations.

Cuadrilla submitted to DECC a synthesis report with a number of technical appendices on 2 November 2011, and published this material on their website. These reports examine seismological and geomechanical aspects of the seismicity in relation to the hydraulic fracture treatments, along with detailed background material on the regional geology and rock physics. They also estimated future seismic hazard and proposed recommendations for future operations to mitigate seismic risk.

To assist DECC in evaluating these studies and recommendations, DECC asked three leading experts in the fields of seismology, induced seismicity and hydraulic fracturing to make an independent assessment of the Cuadrilla-funded studies; Dr Brian Baptie, BGS; Professor Peter Styles, Keele University and Dr Christopher A. Green, GFRAC.

Further information supplied by Cuadrilla in the course of this assessment is available as Annexes below. The independent experts have now made recommendations to DECC for mitigating the risk of induced seismicity resulting from continued hydraulic fracturing at Preese Hall, Lancashire and elsewhere in Great Britain.

See UK Onshore Operators Group’s

for description of the Hydraulic Fracturing Programme (HFP), the detailed risk assessment now required as part of the OGA frac consent that also describes the control and mitigation measures for fracture containment and for any potential induced seismicity.

Background material for general public

Non-specialist readers may find the following material helpful:

Annexes

Onshore environmental regulations

Legislation, further information and guidance on environmental regulation that affects onshore operators.

Please direct all enquries to:

Toni Harvey
Email: toni.harvey@oga.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 068 6037

Updates to this page

Published 22 January 2013
Last updated 30 June 2016 + show all updates

  1. Status of licences with licence event date of 30 June 2016 - (added)

  2. Oil & Gas: Updated Basic onshore well data.

  3. Oil and Gas Authority: Updated Extended well tests and Hydraulic Fracture Plan

  4. Oil and Gas: Updated document for Basic onshore well data

  5. Basic onshore well data - (updated)

  6. Onshore well data - (updated)

  7. Oil and gas: Basic onshore well data - (updated)

  8. Oil and Gas: Onshore well data - (updated)

  9. Oil and Gas: Update of basic onshore well data spreadsheet

  10. Oil and gas: Guidance notes for onshore oil and gas field development - (updated)

  11. Oil and gas: Onshore well data - (updated)

  12. Oil and Gas: Update of basic onshore well data as of 08/09/2014

  13. Updated 'Basic onshore well data'

  14. OIl and gas: BGS Midland Valley of Scotland Shale reports - (added)

  15. Oil and gas: Onshore - BGS Weald Basin Jurassic Shale reports - (added)

  16. Oil and gas: Onshore well data - (updated0

  17. Oil and gas: Onshore well data - (updated)

  18. Basic onshore well data - updated

  19. PON 9b updated

  20. basic onshore well data - updated

  21. Link to BGS Bowland Shale Gas report

  22. First published.

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