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CATS North Sea exceeded venting limit
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NSTA maintains sharp focus on regulatory compliance
The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has fined CATS North Sea Limited (CATS) £175,000 for venting more than double the consented volume of gas at its terminal in Teesside.
CATS had permission to vent a maximum of four tonnes of gas from its Central Area Transmission System terminal for the full year in 2024, but vented 10.02 tonnes of gas, primarily methane, between 1 January and 24 September.
The operator underestimated the volume of gas that would be vented during a planned shutdown when applying for its consent for 2024 and was slow to identify and deal with the breach, demonstrating a lack of proper consent management.
The terminal, which opened in 1993, receives and processes natural gas from around 30 fields in the Central North Sea.
The NSTA is holding industry to account on its regulatory obligations and commitment to lower production emissions, including from venting, on the way to net zero by 2050.
The regulator launched its OGA Plan for emissions reductions in 2024, requiring operators to achieve zero routine venting and flaring by 2030, among other measures.
Upper limits for venting and flaring are set through the NSTA’s annual issuing of consents, and operators are expected to adhere to those terms or face the consequences. Fines totalling £1.375 million have now been issued for breaches of venting and flaring limits since 2021.
In late-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, a clear signal of our determination to clamp down on non-compliance.
The NSTA also works collaboratively with industry to cut emissions by promoting best practice and motivating operators to invest in technologies that eliminate wasteful venting and flaring of gas.
Progress is being made. Methane venting from the UK’s offshore oil and gas fields and onshore processing terminals fell 63% to 0.31 MtCO2e between 2018 and 2023, as set out in the NSTA’s 2025 Emissions Monitoring Report. Flaring activity in the UKCS halved between 2018 and 2024.
Jane de Lozey, NSTA Director of Regulation, said: “Operators must understand that we will not tolerate breaches of regulatory obligations, which weaken the industry’s reputation in the eyes of the public and investors, and, in the case of venting, undermines wider efforts to cut emissions.”
CATS co-operated fully with the NSTA’s investigation and has implemented changes, including increased monitoring, to prevent future breaches.
Notes to editors:
CATS North Sea Limited sanction notice.
CATS’ breach pre-dated the introduction of the £500,000 starting point for considering the level of fines for flaring and venting breaches, and so did not apply to this case.
Venting occurs when excess gas, predominantly methane, is disposed of into the atmosphere unignited, whereas, with flaring, excess gas is burned off, mainly resulting in carbon dioxide emissions. While venting and flaring activities are sometimes required for safety and operational reasons, more can be done to lower emissions from both processes. Flaring and venting together made up 19% of UKCS production emissions in 2024.
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