North Sea emissions down six years in a row

Production emissions from oil and Gas operations in the North Sea have fallen for six consecutive years, according to fresh data from the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA).

The non-departmental body, sponsored by the UK Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), revealed in its latest Emissions Monitoring Report, that between 2018 and 2025 had fallen by an estimated 37%.

Apart from assets which have ceased production, more than half of reductions were attributed to active measures taken by operators on installations.

The success aligns with the North Sea Transition Deal’s interim targets, where operators have already surpassed the goal of reducing emission by 25% by 2027, making the goal of halving all emission by 2030 more realistic.

Hedvig Ljungerud, NSTA director of strategy, said: “The North Sea is a vital part of the UK’s energy system, contributing to the transition and many thousands of skilled jobs. It is welcome to see continued impressive reductions in production emissions, reflecting industry work and commitment.

“Looking to the challenges ahead, both future targets and staying globally competitive, the NSTA expects operators to rise to these – as they have many times in the past – and show great urgency in committing to additional, significant efforts across the board to drive down emissions.”

Despite the improvement to reductions, the NSTA have tightly scrutinised oil and gas operators in other areas of emissions reductions and decarbonisation, namely in decommissioning work.

Earlier this year, the NSTA slammed operators for not moving fast enough with well decommissioning in the North Sea, which currently has a backlog of 500 wells awaiting abandonment, and further 1,000 wells scheduled for decommissioning in the next five years.