Legal background The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA)
The OGA will exercise certain licensing and regulatory functions in the Petroleum Act 1998, relating to the licensing of oil and gas exploration and production, which must be exercised in accordance with the Hydrocarbons Licensing Directive (94/22/EC) and the Offshore Safety Directive (2013/30/EU). It will also exercise licensing functions under Chapters 2 and 3 of Part 1 of the Energy Act 2008, relating to the importation and storage of combustible gas and the storage of carbon dioxide. In addition it will be responsible for the exercise of the functions of the Secretary of State under Chapter 3 of Part 2 of the Energy Act 2011, relating to access to upstream petroleum infrastructure and for the production of the Maximising Economic Recovery for the UK (MER UK) Strategy, required by the Petroleum Act 1998, section 9A (inserted by the Infrastructure Act 2015). It will also have a role advising on the costs of the decommissioning of offshore installations.