Policy background Part 13: Offshore Wind Electricity Generation, Oil and Gas Oil and gas cost recovery
It is a fundamental principle of the decommissioning regime that a person who is responsible for developing or operating an offshore installation or pipeline should also be responsible for decommissioning at the end of its useful life. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero currently has powers to charge those responsible for offshore installations and pipelines fees at two points in time, in connection with its regulatory functions in approving and revising offshore (oil and gas and carbon storage) decommissioning programmes. Due to the increasing scale of offshore decommissioning activities and the associated complexity and duration of the regulatory functions associated with them, the current cost recovery mechanism is no longer fit for purpose. This measure will make amendments to future proof the cost recovery mechanism in line with the polluter pays principle of environmental law.