The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has published its latest Reserves and Resources report. The NSTA highlights 3.3bn boe as an estimate for proven and probable UK oil and gas reserves at the end of 2023.

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has published Stewardship Expectations to assist carbon storage licensees in meeting their regulatory obligations. The Expectations cover five key operational areas: (1) containment risk assessment; (2) appraisal and sub-surface characterisation; (3) data acquisition and use for appraisal and monitoring; (4) technology development and deployment; and (5) stakeholder engagement. Each Expectation includes explanatory notes, detailed roadmaps for regulatory compliance and best practice suggestions.

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has published its fifth Wells Insight report, which highlights trends and performance benchmarks in exploration and appraisal (A&E), new development wellbores, existing wells and plugging and abandonment activities in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has published its approach to applications for consent to transfer carbon dioxide appraisal and storage licences, or changes in control of corporate entities. This approach provides clarity to licensees on the NTSA’s process for considering transactions, thereby supporting the growing carbon storage industry and contributing to a predictable and stable regulatory system.

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has published the response to its consultation on proposed new guidance on the conduct of licence assignments. Alongside its response, the NSTA has finalised a guidance document, comprising a set of recommended principles and practices to encourage collaboration between buyers, sellers, and interested third parties. It seeks to assist industry in minimising transaction delays, which can increase costs, prolong uncertainty, delay operational and strategic decisions, damage trust and working relationships among companies working in the Basin, and erect barriers to investment. It focuses on transactions pertaining to the assignment of offshore petroleum production licences in the UK Continental Shelf.

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has published two sets of guidance to assist in the development of a carbon storage industry. The guidance aims to boost the industry and facilitate job creation in the sector.

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has published a new policy on company specific information disclosure, following its 2024 transparency consultation. Under the policy, companies will now be identified at the outset of investigations into suspected regulatory breaches, instead of being named only once sanctions are imposed. It also establishes new transparency measures for decommissioning obligations, including the annual publication of a decommissioning performance table detailing operators' outstanding commitments.

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has published a response to its call for evidence on a carbon storage levy. The call for evidence ran from 4 December 2023 to 26 January 2024, and sought views on the potential principles, design and timing of a levy on UK carbon storage licences. In its response, NSTA has stated that it intends to introduce a carbon storage levy in the future, once the industry is 'on a more self-sustaining footing'.

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has published the response to its February 2024 consultation on proposed regulations for disclosing carbon storage information and samples. Following analysis of stakeholder feedback, the NSTA will recommend that the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero introduce secondary legislation in Parliament to establish timeframes for the disclosure of different types of carbon storage data, including two years for well information, five years for geophysical surveys and two months for injection information. The new regulations are expected to come into force by February 2026.

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has published updated guidance on Supply Chain Action Plans (SCAPs), replacing previous guidance on SCAPs. The guidance details when a SCAP is required and provides information on the matters the NSTA normally considers.

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has published updated guidance on carbon storage permit applications. The guidance aims to assist operators in notifying the NSTA of planned operational changes at storage sites. It outlines the notification process and the evidence that may be required by the NSTA.

The Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA) has published a speech delivered by Chief Justice, Andrew Bell, at the International Arbitration Conference 2025. In his address, titled Fabrication and Delegation: AI in International Arbitration, the Chief Justice examined the implications of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) for the integrity and legitimacy of international arbitration. He emphasised that the traditional reliance on personal accountability in judicial and arbitral decision-making is increasingly challenged by the integration of Gen AI technologies.