•    Excess of 20 tonnes of carbon dioxide pumped into the air
•    Company breached consent in same area year before
•    NSTA firmly focused on emissions reduction 

CNR has been fined £300,000 for breaching its vent consent on its Ninian fields in the Northern North Sea about 100 miles northeast of the Shetland Isles.

The company self-reported on 26 November 2024 that it had exceeded its vent consent of 272.2 tonnes for the period 15 June to 31 December 2024 by 20.9 tonnes.

CNR was previously fined £250,000 in 2023 for exceeding its vent consent in the same area.

In 2024, CNR experienced a series of operational events that increased venting volumes, including weather-related flare issues in October 2024 and a six-day production outage caused by third-party pipeline equipment failure in early November 2024. 

Following this, CNR prepared an application to request an increase in its vent consent for the remainder of the year, but before the application was submitted that consent was exceeded on 26 November 2024.

CNR contacted NSTA the same day to confirm that the consent had been exceeded in the early hours of that morning. Since this incident, CNR has put in place more frequent and more analytical reviews of venting events, including daily reviews of venting volumes.

Jane de Lozey, NSTA Director of Regulation, said:

“It is deeply disappointing that CNR breached its consent again within a year of previously breaching its vent consent for the same area. Investors and the public rightly expect this industry is held to high standards and operators must comply with their regulatory responsibilities.”

The NSTA works closely with industry to support efforts to reduce emissions. Latest figures from the Emissions Monitoring Report show that total production emissions fell by about a third between 2018 and 2024. 

However, North Sea emissions still account for just over 3% of total UK greenhouse gas emissions and it is vital that industry maintains its focus on cutting emissions to reach net zero by 2050.

Notes to editors:

CNR International (U.K.) Limited sanction notice 

The Ninian area fields include the Ninian, Lyell, Columba E, Columba B/D, Orlando and Strathspey fields.

On 10 December 2024, the NSTA told operators that the starting figure when considering the level of any fine imposed would be £500,000 for breaches of flaring or venting consents occurring after 1 January 2025. As CNR’s breach pre-dated the introduction of the starting point, it was not applied to this case.

For further information please contact: 
Tel: 07785 655620 
Email: pressoffice@nstauthority.co.uk