EurOil: a year of regulatory reform

The EU is preparing a series of sweeping regulatory reforms this year in order to align its laws with its climate ambitious, and many of these changes will have a significant impact on the oil and gas industry.

The European Commission has published its Fit for 55 package that includes changes to the emissions trading system, the introduction of a cross-border carbon tax and almost countless other regulatory tweaks to help decarbonise the bloc's economy.

The Commission also ended the year by proposing changes to TEN-E regulations to increase the scrutiny on new gas infrastructure, a package for decarbonising the sector by encouraging the development of low-carbon fuels like hydrogen and bio-methane, and new rules for reporting and reducing methane emissions from the energy sector.

Some UK oil and gas players may be thankful that Brexit has saved them from having to navigate this complex web of new regulations, but they have challenges of their own. There is unprecedented scrutiny of new oil and gas investments, largely as a result of campaigns by environmental NGOs, and this likely led Shell to withdraw from plans to develop the large Cambo oilfield west of the Shetland Islands.

If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping Europe’s oil and gas sector then please click here for NewsBase’s EurOil Monitor.