Former NSTA boss pocketed £300k in final year with regulator

The former chief executive of the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) was paid £300,000 for his final year of service.

Andy Samuel, who left the industry regulator at the turn of the year, pocketed a salary of up to £230,000 for 2022, as well as a bonus payment of around £70,000.

His replacement Stuart Payne, formerly the NSTA’s supply chain and decommissioning head, was paid around £65,000 for his work last year.

As for other notable figures at the regulator, chairman Tim Eggar received £80,000, chief financial officer Nic Granger £205,000, and audit and risk committee chief Iain Lanaghan £25,200.

All the remuneration figures are included in the NSTA’s latest annual report and accounts, for the year ended March 31, published this week.

We supported UK energy security by approving six projects with potential production of 82 mmboe in 2022. For more information about the NSTA’s work through the year go here https://t.co/AoypAsX78P#energysecurity pic.twitter.com/Tmzv9UsSkH

— North Sea Transition Authority (@NSTAuthority) July 17, 2023

A rebate for industry

During 2022 the organisation raised levy funding of £32.9 million, as well as fees and charges of £4.6m, to cover core operational costs.

Fees and charges were higher than budgeted as a result of the first carbon capture and storage licensing round and the 33rd North Sea licensing round.

© Supplied by Kath Flannery / DCT

Savings were achieved through changes to the NSTA’s organisational structure, meaning £4.5m of unspent levy funding will be returned to licence holders.

In addition to wages, the cash that was spent went on enhancing data services, as well as upgrades to offices in London and Aberdeen.

Key performance indicators

Updates were also given on how the NSTA is performing against a range of key indicators, separated into energy, transition, value and corporate.

Notably the regulator approved six projects were sanctioned in the UKCS in 2022, meaning it delivered on “meeting demand/security of supply”.

Taken together the schemes – all of which were subject to a net zero ‘test’ – amount to 82 million barrels of oil equivalent (Mmboe) with an average production emissions intensity well below the 2021 average.

The NSTA also scored green for its work on emissions targets, energy integration, carbon capture and storage, and supply chain.

Work to do on decom

However one target the regulator missed was to reduce the cost of decommissioning the North Sea by 35% by the end of 2022, against a 2017 baseline of about £60 billion.

© Supplied by TAQA

It stated: “On a like-for-like basis the 2022 forecast cost estimate of decommissioning is £45bn, reflecting a cumulative reduction in the forecast of 25% (£15bn) since 2017, and representing no change since 2021. This should be seen in the context of somewhat challenging economic conditions.”

As such it has set a new target, announced in November, of reducing the bill by 10% by 2028, from £37bn to £33.3bn, from an updated 2022 baseline.

‘Renewed challenges’

In a statement, Mr Payne said: “Following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, all nations have seen a renewed focus on ensuring security of supply, and for the UK this includes the significant importance of North Sea oil and gas in our energy mix.

© Supplied by Kath Flannery / DCT

“At the same time, we remain fully committed to accelerating the energy transition and ensuring the industry meets its emissions reduction target as we help power the drive to net zero.

“These issues are at the heart of our work at the NSTA as we work with government, industry, and other stakeholders in the North Sea. We focus our work on three key activities: Helping ensure the UK’s energy demands are met; Rapidly driving down the production emissions from the that energy; Accelerating the energy transition and reaching net zero.”

He added: “The coming year will bring renewed challenges. Colleagues from across the organisation will be asked to look at issues as they arise and reach decisions that are in keeping with our values of being Fair, Accountable, Considerate and Robust, and I know they will do just that. The NSTA remains a Great Place to Work, and the work we do remains vital to the UK.”