Guidance

Oil and gas: environmental submissions and determinations

Interested parties can review records of applications and statements submitted to OPRED as required by environmental regulations.

From:
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
Published
22 January 2013
Last updated
1017 March 2025 — See all updates

Overview

Interested parties can review records of applications and statements submitted to BEIS OPRED as required by environmental regulations.

If you wish to obtain a copy of any of the submissions, please contact the Business Support Team by email at OPRED@energysecurity.gov.uk, confirming the name of the company / operator, the type of submission and the relevant OPRED reference number. You may submit comments on any application that has yet to be determined, and if that is your intention you should confirm when you submit the request for a copy of the submission so that we can advise you of any relevant deadlines. Please note that we normally endeavour to determine most submissions within 28 days of the date of first receipt of the application, however longer timescales apply in the case of submissions such as Environmental Statements and Oil Pollution Emergency Plans.

Portal Environmental Tracking System (PETS) Applications

With the exception of Environmental Statements (ES) and Oil Pollution Emergency Plans (OPEP), all applications for environmental approvals are now received and processed via the UK Energy Portal Environmental Tracking System (PETS), which replaced the previous Petroleum Operations Notice (PON) application system.

Summary lists of applications received and determined via PETS for each calendar year from 2014 (when the system went live), for drilling operations (DRA), production operations (PRA), pipeline operations (PLA), well intervention operations (WIA) and decommissioning operations (DCA), and for standalone applications (SA) for geological surveys or activities requiring a marine licence or navigational consent can be accessed online. There is a facility to download and filter these spreadsheets to enable specific applications to be more easily searched for and located. Lists of applications submitted and processed prior to 2014 and dealt with under the PON application system are included under the relevant regulations below.

The Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration, Production, Unloading and Storage (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2020 (“the 2020 EIA Regulations”)

Offshore Petroleum Production and Pipelines (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations 1999 (as amended) - replaced by the 2020 EIA Regulations

Environmental Statements

A list of environmental statements received and still under consideration can be accessed using the link below:

A complete list of all environmental statements previously determined by the department can be accessed using the link below:

Applications for Directions

A list of applications submitted using PETS can be accessed using the following link:- PETS applications

Lists of PON15 applications submitted prior to the introduction of PETS can be accessed by year using the links below:

Excluded activities

The Offshore Petroleum Production and Pipelines (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations Regulations 1999 (as amended) provide that a submission is not required to support applications for consent relating to the proposals detailed below, providing the proposals are unlikely to have a significant effect on the environment:

  • construction or augmentation of a pipeline where the works are located entirely within 500 metres (m) of a well or any part of a fixed installation; or
  • the renewal of a consent for the getting of petroleum, where there is no increase in the currently consented level of production and only the duration of the consent is increased; or
  • the renewal of a consent to the carrying on of a gas storage project, where there is no increase in the currently consented level of storage and only the duration of the consent is increased.

A list of the excluded activities can be accessed using the link below:

Offshore Petroleum Activities (Conservation of Habitats) Regulations 2001 (as amended)

Applications for geological surveys and shallow drilling operations

A list of applications submitted using PETS can be accessed using the following link:- PETS applications

Lists of PON14 applications submitted prior to the introduction of PETS can be accessed by year using the links below:

Offshore chemicals regulations 2002

Applications for life chemical permits

A list of applications submitted using PETS can be accessed using the following link:- PETS applications

A list of PON15D applications submitted prior to the introduction of PETS can be accessed using the link below:

Applications for term chemical permits

A list of applications submitted using PETS can be accessed using the following link:- PETS applications

Lists of PON15B/C/E/F applications submitted prior to the introduction of PETS can be accessed by year using the links below:

Offshore Petroleum Activities (Oil Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2005 (as amended)

Applications for life oil discharge permits

A list of applications submitted using PETS can be accessed using the following link:- PETS applications

A list of OPPC Life Permit applications submitted prior to the introduction of PETS can be accessed using the link below:

Applications for term oil discharge permits

A list of applications submitted using PETS can be accessed using the following link:- PETS applications

Lists of OPPC Term Permit applications submitted prior to the introduction of PETS can be accessed by year using the links below:

Food and Environmental Protection Act 1985 (FEPA) (as amended)

Applications for licences under FEPA Part II Deposits in the Sea in relation to reserved oil and gas activities were previously administered by either Marine Scotland (for Scottish waters) or Cefas (for English and Welsh waters) under arrangements agreed with the Department. Following the introduction of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (MCAA), FEPA Part II was revoked except in relation to reserved oil and gas activities in Scottish territorial waters, and responsibility for any licensing in those waters reverted to the Department.

Enquiries relating to historic applications and licences should be forwarded directly to Marine Scotland at env_prot@marlab.ac.uk or Cefas at ogc@cefas.co.uk. Alternative contact details can be found on their respective websites.

Since the introduction of MCAA, there have been no applications for FEPA Part II licences in relation to reserved oil and gas activities in Scottish territorial waters.

Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (MCAA)

Marine licences are required for a limited number of offshore energy activities that are not excluded or exempted from the licensing provisions of MCAA. The licensable activities are principally related to decommissioning operations, including activities such as the deposit and removal of materials, the disturbance of the seabed, and the use of explosives.

Register of Marine Licenses

In accordance with the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 Part 4 Chapter 5, the department is required to maintain and make publicly available a register of licences granted or rejected. As per the Regulations, the register also records licence variations, revocations, convictions, remedial actions and any other information supplied as part of the Marine Licence application which the department may deem appropriate to record on the register.

A list of marine licence applications submitted using PETS can be accessed using the following link:- PETS applications

Lists of all marine licence applications submitted prior to the introduction of PETS can be accessed by year using the links below:

Offshore Combustion Installations (Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2013 (as amended)

The Offshore Combustion Installations (Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2013 came in to force on 19 May 2013 and were amended by the Offshore Combustion Installations (Pollution Prevention and Control) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 which came into force on 18 July 2018. In accordance with the requirements of the 2013 Regulations (as amended), the department is also required to give notice of new applications to operate combustion installations, granting or refusal of applications, permit reviews, revocation, surrender and assignment. A spreadsheet detailing these and all applications submitted under the 2013 Regulations (as amended), can be accessed using the link below:

Public Notice – Applications for Large Combustion Installations 

Applications for a large combustion installation are published as required by regulation 5(1).

Large Combustion Plant BAT-AEL Derogations

Notices to operators of a decision made under regulation 14(5) are published for a period of 12 months and then are removed from the website.

Register of Medium Combustion Plant

The Offshore Combustion Installations (Pollution Prevention and Control) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 also contained provisions to implement the Medium Combustion Plant Directive (MCPD), which will come into force from 20 December 2018. The Regulations require the maintenance of a public register of medium combustion plant, in accordance with Annex I of the Medium Combustion Plant Directive which will be made available here following this legislation coming into force and once any qualifying plant has been registered or granted a permit.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Regulations 2012

The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Regulations 2012 came into force on 1 January 2013 and replaced the the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Regulations 2005. A spreadsheet detailing all applications submitted under the 2005 and 2012 Regulations can be accessed using the link below:

EU ETS Permit Applications (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 19.1 KB)

Energy Act, Part 4A Consent to Locate

In October 2005, the Department assumed responsibility for administration of Section 34 of The Coast Protection Act 1949 (CPA) in relation to offshore energy activities on behalf of the Department for Transport. In April 2011, the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 introduced provisions to transfer the consenting provisions of Section 34 to the Energy Act 2008 and the regulatory competence to the department.

A list of Consent to Locate (CtL) applications submitted using PETS can be accessed using the following link:- PETS applications

Lists of consent applications submitted prior to the introduction of PETS can be accessed by year using the links below:

Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation Convention) Regulations 1998 (as amended)

A list of Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (OPEP) submissions which are currently active or under review by the department, can be accessed using the link below:

OPEP Submissions (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 79.5 KB)

Please note that within the spreadsheet some approved dates are recorded as earlier than the corresponding submission dates. This anomaly exists where approvals have been issued for OPEPs under the old application process and in these cases the submission date represents the latest upload to the CA Portal, which may have been the date of migration to the online portal system, or a minor variation, neither of which would trigger a new approved date.

Updates to this page

Published 22 January 2013
Last updated 1017 March 2025 + show all updates

    3. List of PPC Applications-uploaded

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