The UK’s oil and gas regulator fined Shell UK £50,000 for breaching five field production consents.
The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) said it raised concerns two years ago that the company failed to comply with the maximum and minimum volumes specified in the production consents for five Southern North Sea fields.
The former Oil and Gas Authority said an investigation confirmed the failure.
It said Shell’s own internal review found that it did not fully implement a process to improve compliance with production consents due to a failure to conduct an effective handover following a restructuring exercise.
The oil and gas regulator said the company has committed to improving compliance following discussions with the NSTA.
Tom Wheeler, NSTA Director of Regulation, said: “In this instance, Shell did not live up to its commitments and responsibilities, in a way that could detract from the industry’s social licence to operate.
“However, Shell did cooperate fully with the NSTA’s investigation and is already implementing the recommendations from its internal review, dealing with the immediate causes of the failure to comply with production consents.”
ELN has approached Shell for a response.
