United Kingdom Continental Shelf meaning

Mergers CMA prohibits Aramark/Entier; Aramark ordered to unwind merger The CMA has published its final report from its phase 2 investigation into Aramark Limited’s completed acquisition of Entier Limited. Both businesses supply catering and ancillary facilities management to the offshore energy industry in the UK North Sea, providing food and housekeeping for crews working on oil rigs and for those constructing wind farms. The CMA determined the deal has resulted in, or could foreseeably result in, an SLC in the market for the supply of offshore catering and ancillary facilities management services to customers for assets in the oil and gas sector on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS). Specifically, the CMA found that: the merger brings together two of the three leading UK suppliers; Aramark and Entier are regarded as particularly strong providers, with customers typically expecting to invite both to UKCS tenders; and other rivals are unlikely to offer sufficiently strong alternatives to the merged entity in the near term...

The Master Deed is the standardised mechanism used across the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS) to formalise asset transfers. It is long-established and addresses two strands: (i) pre-emption, and (ii) standardised transfer arrangements. Its four principal objectives are to: bring existing pre-emption provisions into a common form provide pro-forma transfer arrangements cut complexity around document execution, and deliver greater certainty over completion timing Structure The concept is embedded in the main body of the Master Deed, but most day-to-day operative provisions sit in the schedules, arranged as follows: main body — appoints the Administrator to operate the Master Deed processes and provides for new parties to join via a Deed of Adherence schedule 1 — lists the Contracting Parties at the date of signature schedule 2 — New Transfer Arrangements — whose Annexes include the Execution Deed schedule 3 — New Pre-Emption Arrangements, and schedule 4 — Deed of Adherence ...

Background The United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS) comprises a intricate web of infrastructure evolved over many decades, much of it tailored to the requirements of individual fields, alongside a series of trunk lines. Over time, spare capacity has progressively appeared in pipelines and in processing plant on platforms. At the same time, as a mature basin, the UKCS is seeing smaller discoveries, and few fields remain large enough to justify building wholly new infrastructure. As a result, most new projects need to access third-party systems to reach the shore. In some situations, this involves tapping several separate links along an export route. On the surface, this promises a strong opportunity for both new field owners and infrastructure proprietors. Yet difficulties arise. For many new fields, options for export routing are limited, meaning normal competitive market dynamics may not function effectively. In some cases, the infrastructure may amount to an essential facility under competition law, such that denying access on fair, non-discriminatory terms would amount to an abuse of a...

Oversight of UK decommissioning policy and its delivery sits with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). Formed on 7 February 2023, DESNZ assumed the energy remit of the former Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which has now been dissolved, including its responsibilities for decommissioning. Any mention of ‘BEIS’ in this practice note refers to the department’s former functions. Although the UK issues policy documents, a substantial portion of the regime is driven by the UK’s commitments under international law. International Law—installations The 1958 Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf (Geneva Convention) was the first treaty to set out the law of the sea, and it remains the only convention that expressly mentions the ‘removal’ of installations. The United Kingdom gave effect to the Convention domestically in 1964 through the Continental Shelf Act 1964 (CSA 1964), which vested in the Crown all rights exercisable in designated areas beyond territorial waters concerning the seabed and subsoil in those zones. Today, two core international conventions...

Decommissioning Relief Deed (DRD) The Decommissioning Relief Deed (DRD) constitutes an agreement between the UK Government and a ‘Qualifying Company’ active in the oil and gas exploration and production sector within the UK or on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS). The DRD is designed to give clarity over the tax relief a Qualifying Company will obtain at the point of decommissioning and, in certain circumstances, can lead to a payment by the UK Government to the Qualifying Company. For further detail on DRDs, refer to Practice Note: Decommissioning:—overview of the decommissioning relief deed. The DRD follows a mandated template and is not open to amendment...