³ÉÈËÓ°Òô

Legal News

Navigating the North Sea—NSTA releases new guidance to streamline M&A transactions

Published on: 24 January 2025

Table of contents

  • Expectations of the buyer and seller
  • Decommissioning
  • Consenting parties
  • Commentary

Article summary

Energy analysis: On 8 October 2024, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) released updated guidance for the assignment of offshore petroleum production licences in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) (the Guidance). Publication of the Guidance followed a consultation launched on 28 March 2023 inviting industry feedback from licensees, infrastructure owners and potential future investors. The aim of the Guidance is to streamline the period between signing and completion of M&A transactions in the UKCS, reducing potentially costly delays and improving deal certainty, while assisting in the development of a stable regulatory system which encourages investment in both oil and gas and energy transition projects in the UKCS. As background to the Guidance, the NSTA recognises the role M&A plays in the UKCS, which includes the need for ‘new capital, new ideas and new vigour’ to support the central obligation of the ‘OGA Strategy’, to maximise economic recovery of petroleum while assisting the Secretary of State in meeting the net zero target.

Popular documents