The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has handed its largest ever fine to operator Repsol for breaching offshore emissions rules.
Repsol has been penalised £160,000 after offences at the Auk North, Halley and Fulmar fields for flaring and venting 73 tonnes of gas.
NSTA said the failure “undermines public trust and confidence in the industry and raises questions about the company’s attention to, and investment in, regulatory compliance”.
The penalty is the largest ever issued by the NSTA, after a £150,000 fine for EnQuest last year, following issues at the Magnus field between 30 November to 1 December 2021.
NSTA has been cutting down on flaring and venting – a process of burning off excess gas, or venting of unignited gas – which accounts for around a fifth of emissions from North Sea oil and gas production.
Operators have halved the practice in the last four years, and are obligated to end all routing flaring and venting by 2030 at the latest on all UK platforms.
Repsol was found to have flared gas after the expiry of a consent on 30 June 2022 – on 1-2 July 2022, and 2-7 July 2022.
The firm has 30 days to pay the fine, which was issued 5 December.
A Repsol spokesperson said: “We have accepted responsibility for unauthorised flaring and venting at our Auk North, Halley and Fulmar fields.
“We co-operated fully with the NSTA’s investigation and have taken steps to mitigate the possibility of any future breaches.”
Auk sits 155 miles south-east of Aberdeen, Fulmar is 217 miles off Aberdeen, with Halley nearby and tied-back to Fulmar.
Jane de Lozey, NSTA Director of Regulation, said: “Reducing emissions and meeting regulatory requirements is absolutely essential if industry is going to maintain its social licence to operate.
“Repsol has engaged with the NSTA to learn from its failings on this occasion and taken steps to ensure it does not happen again.
“We will continue to ensure that operators comply with regulations in the North Sea and will not hesitate to take action on the occasions that they do not. The NSTA is always ready to work with operators to ensure they remain in compliance, or bring them back into compliance.”
Earlier this year Repsol Sinopec rebranded to Repsol Resources after the exit of China’s Sinopec from the joint venture.
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