The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has launched its latest stewardship expectation, which sets out how the oil and gas industry should reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and support the delivery of the UK’s net zero target.
Stewardship expectations were introduced by the OGA back in 2016. The OGA’s newest is the eleventh in the set and focuses on creating a culture of GHG emissions reduction within the UKCS, ensuring that GHG emissions reduction is considered throughout the entire oil and gas lifecycle, and collaboration between all relevant parties to support and progress potential energy integration developments.
With the new expectation in place, operators must demonstrate a commitment to reducing greenhouse gases at every stage of the oil and gas lifecycle. The OGA said it will monitor performance closely through an annual stewardship survey, performance benchmarking, and tier reviews.
“Development of this stewardship expectation drew on the OGA’s knowledge of many of the good practices parts of industry are already implementing,” Scott Robertson, the director of operations at the OGA, said in an organization statement.
“However, the expectation is an opportunity for the whole industry to see what the OGA is looking for consistently across every operator - in the interests of the UKCS playing its part in helping the country deliver net zero. At a time when the industry’s social license to operate is under threat, understanding and adopting good practice emissions reduction actions will help industry play its role in an orderly energy transition,” he added.
“Our stewardship expectations have been tried and tested over the years, and this latest addition is another step on the OGA’s journey of integrating net zero into everything we do. This expectation brings to life the practical, tangible actions operators must take to implement our revised strategy into their everyday work,” Robertson continued.
In February 2021 the OGA’s revised strategy came into force, now requiring the industry to operate in a way consistent with net zero ambitions, lowering production emissions, and making progress on the solutions that can contribute to the UK achieving net zero.
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