OGA announces energy transition rebrand
The UK Oil and Gas Authority is changing its name in a bid to reflect its role in guiding the UK's energy transition, it said on March 21.
The OGA is rebranding as the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), a name it said would better express its net zero carbon policy remit. The UK launched its North Sea Transition Deal this time last year, ending support for overseas fossil fuel projects and laying a framework for oil and gas producers to decarbonise North Sea installations.
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The NSTA reports to the UK's department of business, energy & industrial strategy as an executive agency, and regulates upstream activity. Its role has expanded in recent years to reflect evolving climate change goals. The authority now also deals with licensing new carbon capture storage facilities, and tracks the carbon footprint of UK and oil and gas installations.
NSTA CEO Andy Samuel said the UK still uses oil and gas to meet around "three quarters of our energy requirements", and it will likely need hydrocarbon fuels for "decades". Samuel argued the UK's status as a net oil and gas importer has exacerbated its carbon footprint. And with the UK's energy price cap due to rise on April 1, Samuel expects further pressure on the authority against the backdrop of the Ukraine war.
"We must minimise this reliance on imports, which often have a large carbon footprint," Samuel said. "Investment in the North Sea is therefore vital, but the increasingly polarised debate shook industry confidence, putting billions of pounds worth of capital expenditure at risk.
"The UK continental shelf can still attract investors and is open for the right business. We are stewarding a good number of oil and gas developments in line with our net zero test, ensuring cleaner production, while bolstering energy security and giving the UK options."
Aside from stewarding oil and gas activity, Samuel said the authority was "holding North Sea operators to account" on emissions. He claimed NSTA decisions in 2021 had removed the emissions equivalent of around 500,000 cars/year, equating to more than 1 megaton of carbon output.
NSTA's immediate objectives include licensing new carbon capture and storage plants with total capacity of 20 to 30mn metric tons of CO2 before the end of this decade. "The energy trilemma of security, affordability and sustainability is not a new phenomenon," Samuel said. "However, the amount of attention the constituent parts receive is rarely balanced.