Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of deep sea drilling in the ocean.

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) grants licences that confer exclusive rights to ‘search and bore for and get petroleum’ on the UK Continental Shelf. Oil and gas fields, after being licensed, require a number of consents issued by regulators before they can begin production.

Licensees require a consent before a well foundation or other equipment is installed in advance of drilling operations and a well is spudded, side-tracked or drilling recommences.

Guidance on requirements and the considerations that the NSTA take into account for each type of well operation can be found here.