Thursday 12 June 2014

Danny Alexander announces new regulator details at second day of Oil and Gas Industry Conference

Chief Secretary to the Treasury the Rt Hon Danny Alexander MP has opened the second day of Oil & Gas UK’s first Annual Conference in Aberdeen today ahead of a strong line-up of national and international speakers, including Sir Ian Wood.

Mr Alexander outlined the UK Government’s vision of the future of the oil and gas industry, stating the North Sea is a ‘hugely important asset to our country’.  The Chief Secretary also announced the name for the new industry regulator – the Oil and Gas Authority – and confirmed Aberdeen as its headquarters.

In welcoming today’s announcement, Malcolm Webb, Oil & Gas UK’s chief executive, said:  “The new regulator is now much more than just a vision or a theoretical construct. It is beginning to take shape, with a name, a location and – as we heard at the conference yesterday – the search for the new chief executive is underway. This is all very good news for our industry and we look forward to the creation of the new regulator over the coming weeks and months.”

Today’s plenary sessions in the morning also heard from Sir Ian Wood who, drawing from presentations by the Dutch, Danish and Norwegian authorities, summarised the aspects of these regimes which, in his view, the new regulator could learn from.

The conference will close today after a ‘Conference Decides’ session, in which conference attendees  will vote on a number of key questions that have arisen throughout the two day event, with Oil & Gas UK directors on stage to give their reactions and further insight to the live vote.

The annual conference, sponsored by Petrotechnics and supported by Costain Upstream, was opened yesterday by Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond, who gave the opening keynote address.

Ends

Notes to editors

For further information, contact Lucy Gordon on lgordon@oilandgasuk.co.uk  or Laura Ackland on lackland@oilandgasuk.co.uk.

Oil & Gas UK is the leading representative organisation for the UK offshore oil and gas industry. Its growing membership, which comprises oil and gas producers and contractor companies, now numbers more than 450.

To request copies of speeches, please contact Laura Ackland at lackland@oilandgasuk.co.uk. Please note: these will need to be checked against delivery.