UK Statutory Instrument SI 2020/1497 United Kingdom

The Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration, Production, Unloading and Storage (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2020

Read it on legislation.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)
Status
In Force
Penalty ceiling
Prosecution 1 of 22 obligations carry an unlimited fine. 21 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.

Does it bind you?

Business-side roles with duties under this instrument.

Operator12 Applicant1 Employer1 Any Person1

Plus 7 duties on the regulator, Crown ministers and public bodies — folded into the section list below.

Other Acts binding the same actors

If a role above is yours, these are the other instruments that most often bind it.

Operator — also bound by 746 other Acts
Applicant — also bound by 307 other Acts
Employer — also bound by 682 other Acts
TULRCA 1992 72 duties
Any Person — also bound by 2340 other Acts

What it requires

Regulations creating concrete business duties or carrying penalties, grouped as the instrument is structured. Titles link to the source text — blue means you’re leaving for legislation.gov.uk.

s.004 Requirement for Consent Regulated
  • Obtain consent and carry out environmental impact assessment before starting any projectOperator
s.005 Requirement for an Environmental Impact Assessment Regulated
  • Obtain an Environmental Impact Assessment or screening direction for offshore oil and gas projectsOperator
s.006 Requirement for a screening direction Regulated
  • Apply for a screening direction with required informationOperator
s.007 Decision that no environmental impact assessment is required, without a screening direction Regulated
  • Respond to Secretary of State information requests for Schedule 3 projectsOperator
s.008 Environmental Statement Requirements Regulated
  • Submit competent environmental statement for offshore oil and gas projectsOperator
s.009 Scoping opinion for an environmental statement Regulated
  • Provide project details when applying for a scoping opinion and follow itOperator
s.010 Obtaining information for preparing the environmental statement Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must provide requested environmental information or direct developer to appropriate authorityCrown / Minister / Government department
s.012 Provision of further information and related public consultation requirements Regulated
  • Conduct public consultation when Secretary of State flags further informationOperator
s.013 Consultation Requirements – other countries Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Consult other countries if oil/gas project may affect their environmentCrown / Minister / Government department
s.014 Secretary of State decision on whether to agree to the grant of consent Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must decide on consent for offshore oil and gas EIA projectsCrown / Minister / Government department
s.015 OGA decision on whether to grant consent Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • OGA must decide on consent and notify developer within reasonable timeStatutory regulator
s.016 Publication of Secretary of State and OGA decisions Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must publish decision notices and provide copies to interested authoritiesCrown / Minister / Government department
s.018 Exempt projects – adverse effect on the project purpose Regulated
  • Carry out an environmental assessment and publish results if exempted from standard EIAOperator
s.019 UK participation in overseas projects Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must consult on overseas projects affecting UK environmentCrown / Minister / Government department
s.025 Offences Prosecution
  • Provide false information, obstruct inspector, or carry out project without consentAny Person

Unlimited fine

s.026 Revocation Regulated
  • Stop project if Secretary of State revokes consentOperator
s.030 Review Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must review these EIA regulations every 5 yearsCrown / Minister / Government department
13 other provisions — procedural and definitional
s.001 Citation, commencement and application
s.002 The 1999 Regulations and related legislation
s.003 Interpretation
s.011 Public Consultation Requirements - United Kingdom
s.017 Exempt projects – defence and civil emergencies
s.020 Confidentiality
s.021 Provision of Documents
s.022 Fees
s.023 Inspection and investigation
s.024 Application to court by Secretary of State
s.027 Amendments to the Offshore Environmental Civil Sanctions Regulations 2018
s.028 Consequential Amendments
s.029 Transitional and Saving Provisions relating to the 1999 Regulations
Schedules

Schedules

5 of 38 shown
s.sch004 The description of the project must take into account— Regulated
  • Consider environmental impact during project descriptionOperator
s.sch006 A description of the reasonable alternatives (for example in terms... Regulated
  • Include description of alternatives and reasons in EIA reportOperator
s.sch006 An assessment of the likely significant effects of the project... Regulated
  • Assess your project's likely significant environmental effectsEmployer
s.sch006 The assessment under paragraph 4 must— (a) cover the likely... Regulated
  • Ensure environmental impact assessment covers all required effectsOperator
s.sch006 A description of the features of the project or measures... Regulated
  • Include environmental mitigation and accident prevention measures in your EIA reportApplicant
33 other schedules
s.sch001 Extraction of oil and natural gas for commercial purposes where...
s.sch001 Installations for storage of oil with a capacity of 200,000...
s.sch001 Activities captured by section 17(2)(a) or (b) of the Energy...
s.sch001 Installations for the capture of carbon dioxide streams for the...
s.sch001 Pipelines with a diameter of more than 800 mm and...
s.sch001 Pipelines with a diameter of more than 800 mm and...
s.sch001 A change to a project that falls under this Schedule...
s.sch002 (1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), drilling a well or borehole...
s.sch002 Surface installations for the extraction of oil or natural gas....
s.sch002 Extraction of oil or natural gas for commercial purposes where...
s.sch002 Installations for storage of oil with a capacity of less...
s.sch002 Activities captured by section 2(3)(a) to (d) of the Energy...
s.sch002 Installations for the capture of carbon dioxide streams for the...
s.sch002 Pipelines that are— (a) for the transport of oil, combustible...
s.sch002 A change to a project that falls under Schedule 1,...
s.sch002 A change to a project that falls under this Schedule....
s.sch003 The construction of a pipeline for the transport of oil,...
s.sch004 The name and address of the developer.
s.sch004 A description of the project, including— (a) the physical characteristics...
s.sch005 Characteristics of the project
s.sch005 Location of the project
s.sch005 Type and characteristics of the potential impact
s.sch006 A description of the project comprising information on the site,...
s.sch006 A description of the relevant aspects of the current state...
s.sch006 A description of the forecasting methods or evidence, used to...
s.sch006 A non-technical summary of the information provided under paragraphs 1...
s.sch006 A reference list detailing the sources used for the descriptions...
s.sch007 Offshore Petroleum Activities (Conservation of Habitats) Regulations 2001
s.sch007 Offshore Chemicals Regulations 2002
s.sch007 Offshore Petroleum Activities (Oil Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2005
s.sch007 Energy Act 2008 (Consequential Modifications) (Offshore Environmental Protection) Order 2010
s.sch007 Offshore Combustion Installations (Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2013
s.sch007 Conservation of Offshore Marine Habitats and Species Regulations 2017

Duty extraction and severity labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the instrument, not the instrument itself. Always verify against the linked source text.