North Sea Transition Authority

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), known as the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) until March 2022,[8][9] is a private company limited by shares wholly owned by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. It is responsible for maximising the economic recovery of oil from the North Sea.[10][11] It is empowered to license and regulate activity in relation to oil and gas in the United Kingdom, including oil and gas exploration, carbon capture and storage, and offshore gas storage.[12]

The NSTA's role is to take the steps necessary to:[13]

Corporate information

Name

On 1 July 2015, Oil and Gas Authority Limited was incorporated as a private limited company in England and Wales under the Companies Act 2006,[2] although following incorporation it remained dormant for financial year 2015–2016.[17] Pursuant to the Energy Act 2016, Oil and Gas Authority Limited was renamed Oil and Gas Authority on 12 July 2016.[18] Under the Companies Act 2006, private limited companies are required to include the word "limited" in their names unless exempted;[19] the Energy Act 2016 provided for such an exemption,[20] which came into force on 12 July 2016.[21]

On 21 March 2022, the Oil and Gas Authority adopted the trading name of North Sea Transition Authority,[1] although its legal name remains unchanged. In a House of Commons debate on 29 March 2022, Caroline Lucas accused the government of greenwashing over the change of name.[23] Following this, on 31 March 2022, Greg Hands, Minister for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change, said in a written statement to the House of Commons that "the new name better represents the breadth of work it now undertakes and its pivotal role in supporting the UK upstream oil and gas industry to achieve net zero emissions".[24]

Functions, powers, and property

Under Part 1 of the Energy Act 2016, the function, powers, and property of the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero may be transferred to the Oil and Gas Authority by way of a statutory instrument.[25]

Personnel

Part 1 of the Energy Act also provides for the Secretary of State to transfer staff working for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to the Oil and Gas Authority.[25] From 2015 until December 2022, Andy Samuel was chief executive,[26] being replaced by Stuart Payne in January 2023, and since 2019 Tim Eggar has been chairman of the board.[27]

In September 2021 Greenpeace reported that eight of OGA's 13 board members and senior managers had previously worked in the industry, and three held sizeable shareholdings in oil firms. The OGA said their knowledge was vital in helping to regulate the sector.[28]

Ownership

Oil and Gas Authority has one ordinary share, which from 2016 until 2023 was owned by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.[7] Its owner remained unchanged, with each subsequent confirmation statement showing no shareholder changes,[29] until 3 May 2023 when it was transferred to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero by order in council upon the incorporation of that office.

trading name	North Sea Transition Authority (from 21 March 2022‡R1R‡
former name	Oil and Gas Authority Limited (1 July 2015‡R2R‡ –11 July 2016‡R3R‡)
type	Private limited company
founded	July 1, 2015‡R2R‡
hq location	Aberdeen, Scotland‡R4R‡
owner	Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero‡R7R‡

North Sea Transition Authority

History

Fracking