Shell fined for North Sea license commitments breach

Offshore staff

LONDON — The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has fined Shell UK and served the company with a sanction notice for breaching five U.K. field production consents.

In November 2020, the NSTA advised the company it had failed to comply that year with the maximum and minimum volumes specified in production consents for five southern North Sea fields. This was confirmed during an investigation.

According to the NSTA, Shell’s own internal review found it had not fully implemented a new procedure to improve compliance with production consents after failing to conduct an effective handover following a restructuring exercise.

Following discussions with the NSTA and an internal report into its failings, Shell has since engaged more proactively with the Authority, and says it is committed to improving compliance.

This was the fourth probe of a breach in compliance that the Authority investigated in 2021.

Tom Wheeler, NSTA director of Regulation, said, "The NSTA is committed to maintaining a stable and predictable system of regulation, which encourages investment in relevant activities and is working with industry to ensure that compliance continues to improve.”

04.28.2022