North Sea oil firms warned of fines over delays to well decommissioning

North Sea oil firms warned of fines over delays to well decommissioning

NORTH Sea oil and gas operators have been warned they could face fines for continued delays in decommissioning wells.

Bid for two-year delay to frack site restoration published

Cuadrilla’s latest attempt to extend the deadline for site restoration of its fracked shale gas site near Blackpool has been published. Preston New Road on 27 June 2025. Photo: Maple Independent Media The company failed to meet the 8 June 2025 deadline to return the Preston New Road site to farmland, set by the existing planning permission. As expected, Cuadrilla has now submitted a planning application to push the restoration time limit to 30 …

NSTA: Operators have regulatory duty to decommission wells - Drilling Contractor

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) reported a backlog of more than 500 wells that missed their decommissioning deadline, and the figure could grow considerably – with in excess of 1,000 additional wells expected to be due for decommissioning between 2026 and 2030 – per its Decommissioning Cost and Performance Update. By law, operators must … The post NSTA: Operators have regulatory duty to decommission wells appeared first on Drilling Con…