Oil and Gas: fees and charges

Charging for environmental and other regulatory functions

The Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) carries out environmental and other regulatory functions in relation to the offshore oil and gas industry, and the offshore gas and carbon dioxide storage industries.

The powers to charge fees are contained in a mixture of charging schemes made under:

• relevant legislation (e.g. the Offshore Chemical Regulations 2002 and the Offshore Petroleum Activities (Oil Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2005);
• provisions in activity-specific legislation (e.g. for EIA-related activities under the Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration, Production, Unloading and Storage (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2020); or
• provisions in fees-specific legislation (e.g. for Oil Pollution Emergency Plans (OPEPs) under the Pollution Prevention and Control (Fees) (Miscellaneous Amendments and Other Provisions) Regulations 2015).

The main fees-specific legislation, the Pollution Prevention and Control (Fees) (Miscellaneous Amendments and Other Provisions) Regulations 2015 (the ‘2015 Regulations’), have been amended several times, most recently inon June2 2022.July 2025.

The time taken to undertake chargeable functions is recorded, and the fees are calculated by reference to 2two hourly rates – one rate for the environmental specialist staff and one rate for the non-specialist staff. Environmental specialists are technical staff who carry out the relevant functions of the Secretary of State and non-specialists are administrative staff.

The Pollution Prevention and Control (Fees) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 20222025

The Pollution Prevention and Control (Fees) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 20222025 came into force on 172 JuneJuly 20222025 and amend the fee charging provisions of the Pollution Prevention and Control (Fees) (Miscellaneous Amendments and Other Provisions) Regulations 2015, the Offshore Petroleum Activities (Conservation of Habitats) Regulations 2001, the Offshore Petroleum Licensing (Offshore Safety Directive) Regulations 2015 and the Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration, Production, Unloading and Storage (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2020. These 20222025 Regulations make changes to fees under:

• The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation Convention Regulations 1998
• The Offshore Petroleum Activities (conservation of Habitats) Regulations 2001
• Part 4A of the Energy Act 2008 (consents to locate)
• Part 4 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (marine licensing)
• The Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme Regulations 2014
• The Offshore Installations (Offshore Safety Directive (Safety Case etc.) Regulations 2015
• The Offshore Petroleum Licensing (Offshore Safety Directive) Regulations 2015
• Various EU Fluorinated Gas Regulations (which are now retained EU law) and the Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulations 2015
• Regulation 55 of the Conservation of Offshore Marine Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.

To coincide with these amended fee arrangements, the department has revised the existing charging schemes for the Offshore Chemicals Regulations 2002, the Offshore Petroleum Activities (Oil Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2005, the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Regulations 2012, the Offshore Combustion Installations (Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2013 and the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Order 2020, to align the charges relating to those schemes with the amended charges detailed in the new Regulations. These revised charging schemes came into effect on 172 JuneJuly 2022.2025.

Regulations

• The Pollution Prevention and Control (Fees) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 20222025
• Please see previous fee Regulations here

Guidance

• Cost Recovery for offshore functions - A guide (PDF, 168217 KB, 19 pages)

Charging schemes

The latest versions of the charging schemesschemes, which were updated on 2 July 2025, for the Offshore Chemicals Regulations 2002, the Offshore Petroleum Activities (Oil Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2005, the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Regulations 2012 and the Offshore Combustion Installations (Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2013 and the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Order 2020 can be found using the following links:

• Offshore Chemical Regulations 2002 Charging Scheme (PDF, 127162 KB, 10 pages)
• Offshore Petroleum Activities (Oil Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2005 Charging Scheme (PDF, 130163 KB, 10 pages)
• The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Regulations 2012 Charging Scheme (PDF, 127164 KB, 98 pages)
• Offshore Combustion Installations Regulations 2013 Charging Scheme (PDF, 129164 KB, 10 pages)
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Order 2020 Charging Scheme (PDF, 170205 KB, 1110 pages)

Non-Statutory Post Implementation Review of the Pollution Prevention and Control (Fees) (Miscellaneous Amendments and Other Provisions) Regulations 2015

• Post Implementation Review of the Pollution Prevention and Control (Fees) (Miscellaneous Amendments and Other Provisions) Regulations 2015 (PDF, 224 KB, 26 pages)