Guidance OIL AND GAS: ONSHORE EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION Publications, guidance and data including mapping, seismic activity, wells, and licensing and regulation for onshore oil and gas. Get

emails about this page THIS GUIDANCE WAS WITHDRAWN ON 6 OCTOBER 2016 The Oil & Gas Authority launched a new website on 3 October 2016 to reflect its new status as a government company.

This formalises the transfer of the Secretary of State’s regulatory powers in respect of oil and gas to the OGA, and grants it new powers. This website will no longer be updated. Visitors

should refer to www.ogauthority.co.uk CONTENTS * Overview * 14th Landward Licensing Round * Mapping * Onshore reports * Seismic and wells * Licensing * Regulations * Oil and gas well

guidance and data relating to onshore exploration and production, including mapping, seismic activity, wells, and licensing and regulation. Policy information on hydraulic fracturing

(fracking) and shale gas can be found on the Developing Shale Gas and Oil in the UK page 14TH LANDWARD LICENSING ROUND * Licensing Rounds On 17 December 2015, the Oil & Gas Authority

(OGA) announced that licences for a total of 159 blocks were formally offered to successful applicants under the 14th Onshore Oil and Gas Licensing Round. . MAPPING * mapping data – onshore

maps and GIS shapefiles * guidance on onshore co-ordinates ONSHORE REPORTS LATEST * BGS Midland Valley of Scotland Shale reports * Shapefiles and geodatabase for Midland Valley of Scotland

Shale areas * BGS Weald Basin Jurassic Shale reports * Shapefiles and geodatabase for Weald Basin Jurassic Shale areas * BGS Bowland Shale Gas Study reports * Shapefiles and geodatabase for

the Mature Bowland Shale areas * The hydrocarbon prospectivity of Britain’s onshore basins * The unconventional hydrocarbon resources of Britain’s onshore basins – coalbed methane (CBM) *

The unconventional hydrocarbon resources of Britain’s onshore basins – shale gas * Report: The Economic Impact on UK Energy Policy of Shale Gas and Oil ARCHIVED * Interim report on BGS

Bowland Shale Resource Evaluation 13 Dec 2012 (MS Word Document, 7.34 MB) * RockEval data used in BGS Interim report (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 108 KB) * Slides presented at PROSPEX Fair 13 Dec

2012 (PDF, 5.75 MB, 28 pages) * House of Commons DECC Select Committee on Shale Gas Report - volume 1 (PDF, 1.52 MB, 180 pages) * House of Commons DECC Select Committee on Shale Gas Report -

volume 2 (PDF, 1.1 MB, 43 pages) * Shale Gas: Government Response to the Committee's Fifth Report of Session 2012 (PDF, 1.22 MB, 15 pages) * Unconventional gas post note (PDF, 407 KB,

4 pages) SEISMIC AND WELLS * PON 14b Notification of intention to carry out onshore (landward) geophysical surveys (MS Word Document, 37.5 KB) * The OGA’s policy on data release * UK Onshore

Geophysical Library (UKOGL) – release agent for onshore seismic data * Basic onshore well data - (updated 13/06/2016) (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 252 KB) * Release agents for onshore well data

(PDF, 299 KB, 1 page) * PON 9b: Record and sample requirements for onshore geophysical surveys and wells DEVELOPMENT * Guidance notes for onshore oil and gas field development (PDF, 581 KB,

12 pages) LICENSING * Licensing information * Relinquishment Reports received by DECC for previous licences can be downloaded from the historical section of the UKOGL website * Status of

licences with licence event date of 30 June 2016 (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 14 KB) * Onshore licence data REGULATIONS * petroleum operations notices * onshore operatorship requirements *

Regulatory Roadmap to help operators understand the regulation process for onshore oil and gas (shale gas) exploration in the UK * planning regime for England * planning regime for Scotland

* planning regime for Wales OIL AND GAS WELL DISCOVERIES SINCE 1982 * Onshore discoveries since 1982 (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 13.2 KB) EXTENDED WELL TESTS AND HYDRAULIC FRACTURE PLAN * EWT and

HFP guidance (PDF, 257 KB, 3 pages) * Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Process (PDF, 753 KB, 1 page) RESUMPTION OF SHALE GAS EXPLORATION Hydraulic fracturing operations for shale gas in the

UK have been suspended since May 2011, pending the investigation of two seismic tremors experienced near Preese Hall, Lancashire during fracking operations. In the light of the

recommendations of a panel of independent experts, of comments received in response to a public consultation, and of the recommendations of an authoritative review of the scientific and

engineering evidence on shale gas extraction made by the UK’s science and engineering academies, the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Secretary of State for Energy has

announced the introduction of new regulatory requirements to ensure that seismic risks are effectively mitigated. Read the Secretary of State’s statement to Parliament . Subject to these

new requirements, DECC is prepared in principle to consider new applications for consent to such operations, and the suspension is therefore lifted. As before, final consent to any well or

well operations is dependent on confirmation that all other necessary permits and consents have been obtained. A wide range of other issues were raised in the responses to the public

consultation, and DECC together with other relevant bodies has prepared a full Q&A brief on these issues, which can be found below. The full Government response to the recommendations

made on the scientific and engineering evidence by the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering can be found below: * The Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering - Shale

gas extraction in the UK: a review of hydraulic fracturing * Government response to Royal Academy of Engineering and Royal Society report on “Shale Gas Extraction in the UK: a review of

hydraulic fracturing” (PDF, 78.8 KB, 13 pages) * Synopsis of main questions raised in responses to DECC consultation on mitigation of seismic risks from hydraulic fracturing for shale gas

(PDF, 432 KB, 27 pages) FURTHER LINKS * Environment Agency’ guidance note on exploratory shale gas operations * Scottish Environment Protection Agency Regulatory Guidance on Coal Bed Methane

and Shale Gas * HSE Website BACKGROUND On 1 April and 27 May 2011 two earthquakes with magnitudes 2.3 and 1.5 were felt in the Blackpool area. These earthquakes were suspected to be linked

to hydraulic fracture treatments at the Preese Hall well operated by Cuadrilla Resources Ltd. The hydraulic fracture treatments were carried out during exploration of a shale gas reservoir

in the Bowland basin. As a result of the earthquakes, operations were suspended at Preese Hall and Cuadrilla Resources Ltd were requested to undertake a full technical study into the

relationship between the earthquakes and their operations. Cuadrilla submitted to DECC a synthesis report with a number of technical appendices on 2 November 2011, and published this

material on their website. These reports examine seismological and geomechanical aspects of the seismicity in relation to the hydraulic fracture treatments, along with detailed background

material on the regional geology and rock physics. They also estimated future seismic hazard and proposed recommendations for future operations to mitigate seismic risk. To assist DECC in

evaluating these studies and recommendations, DECC asked three leading experts in the fields of seismology, induced seismicity and hydraulic fracturing to make an independent assessment of

the Cuadrilla-funded studies; Dr Brian Baptie, BGS; Professor Peter Styles, Keele University and Dr Christopher A. Green, GFRAC. * Biographies (PDF, 33.9 KB, 1 page) Further information

supplied by Cuadrilla in the course of this assessment is available as Annexes below. The independent experts have now made recommendations to DECC for mitigating the risk of induced

seismicity resulting from continued hydraulic fracturing at Preese Hall, Lancashire and elsewhere in Great Britain. * Preese Hall Shale gas fracturing review & recommendations for

induced seismic mitigation (PDF, 990 KB, 26 pages) See UK Onshore Operators Group’s * UK Onshore Shale Gas Well Guidelines (PDF, 674 KB, 37 pages) for description of the Hydraulic Fracturing

Programme (HFP), the detailed risk assessment now required as part of the OGA frac consent that also describes the control and mitigation measures for fracture containment and for any

potential induced seismicity. BACKGROUND MATERIAL FOR GENERAL PUBLIC Non-specialist readers may find the following material helpful: * Office of Unconventional Gas and Oil * About shale gas

and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) * What is shale gas? (PDF, 41.6 KB, 4 pages) * Background note on induced seismicity in the UK and its relevance to hydraulic stimulation for exploration

for shale gas (PDF, 495 KB, 12 pages) * Background note on shale gas and hydraulic fracturing (PDF, 1.17 MB, 7 pages) * information on Earthquakes * Earthquake frequently asked questions *

Guide to the different ways in which rocks are fractured in Oil and Gas field operations (John Pucknell, University of Portsmouth) ANNEXES * Cuadrilla’s proposed plan for resumption of

hydraulic fracturing operations (PDF, 175 KB, 6 pages) * Qcon proposed Earthquake Monitoring System (PDF, 150 KB, 4 pages) * Cuadrilla recommended treatment design including information

about the Mongoose Frac System (PDF, 735 KB, 14 pages) * Barree and Associates simulation for the stage 2 frac treatment that was pumped at Preese Hall (PDF, 1.04 MB, 15 pages) * Cuadrilla

proposed traffic light system for monitoring during future hydraulic stimulation in the Bowland Shale (PDF, 115 KB, 1 page) * Seismic evaluation of recorded earthquake data (PDF, 1.91 MB, 45

pages) * Translation of recommended guidelines for seismic monitoring by the German Geothermal Association (GtV) (PDF, 306 KB, 7 pages) ONSHORE ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS Legislation,

further information and guidance on environmental regulation that affects onshore operators. * Environmental legislation applicable to the onshore hydrocarbon industry (MS Word Document, 76

KB) * visit the National Archives for guidance on the Pipelines Act 1962 * Guidance notes on the Public Gas Transporter Pipe-line Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 1999

(PDF, 541 KB, 26 pages) * Guidance on the publication of main commercial conditions for use of onshore gas processing facilities and relevant gas pipelines (MS Word Document, 132 KB) Please

direct all enquries to: Toni Harvey Email: [email protected] Telephone: 0300 068 6037 SIGN UP FOR EMAILS OR PRINT THIS PAGE Get emails about this page Print this page Contents