UK regulator fines BP for upstream licence breach
UK upstream regulator Oil & Gas Authority (OGA) has fined UK major BP £50,000 ($69,000) for failing to inform it of the progress and results of two extended well tests (EWT) in the central North Sea, it said July 26. It said BP admitted the fault and was working with the OGA on measures to prevent a recurrence.
OGA had granted BP drilling consents that required it to provide regular reports during EWT operations and also to submit a full report of the results and conclusions within 90 days of the EWT completion.
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But last November the company admitted its own investigation found that internal communications had broken down. There was no guidance in place for managing OGA consents and there was a lack of awareness among engineers of consent requirements, OGA said.
This accidentally "created an unregulated environment in which the OGA was unsighted of BP’s actions. This, in turn, could have exposed BP to a potential flare breach, of which the OGA would not have been aware and would have been unable to take prompt regulatory action."
The OGA is tightening the rules and aims to eliminate flaring as a routine upstream practice by 2030. OGA said it was "committed to maintaining a strong regulatory regime to uphold standards and ensure a level playing field for licensees and operators in the UK Continental Shelf.... We will continue to work with industry to improve compliance, and we are currently considering other matters within the UKCS that may result in further regulatory action.” On this occasion there was no flaring however.
The incident was at the Vorlich field, a £200mn development expected to yield 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent/day.