The North Sea Transition Forum

Previously known as the MER UK Forum the North Sea Transition Forum (NSTF) is hosted and chaired by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) and is the tripartite body which provides senior government and industry leadership for the offshore oil and gas industry.  It is attended by ministers and officials from both the UK and Scottish governments, trade unions, regulators and senior representatives from the upstream oil and gas industry.  

Whilst the NSTF was initially set up in support of MER UK and maximising UK value from the oil and gas industry as a whole, it has evolved to include other key issues including the vitally important energy transition to a low carbon economy and the role the oil and gas sector has to play to achieve net zero.

The NSTF sits at the top of a ‘structure’ which includes a steering group and 7 industry task forces.  The NSTF oversees and directs the work of the task forces.

The objectives of the NSTF are:

• Provide Strategic direction, oversight and support of the offshore oil and gas industry.

• Drive alignment, accountability, action and delivery on key priorities including net zero.

The NSTF, supported by its steering group, will set the strategic direction for the sector and will also be accountable for the delivery of the North Sea Transition Deal, including the review and approval of the work programme.  The Forum will be responsible for reporting to the government on delivery of the Deal at regular intervals.

North Sea Transition Steering Group

The North Sea Transition Steering Group has oversight and co-ordinates the work for the North Sea Transition Task Forces, discusses and reviews strategic matters and ensures that key topics are discussed at the NSTF. 

Task Forces

Each Task Force, is led by an industry representative with support from OGA and Oil & Gas UK and representatives from across industry.  The task forces are important vehicles for driving innovation and improvements.

The seven Task Forces are:

• Asset Stewardship Task Force
• Decommissioning Task Force
• Efficiency Task Force
• Exploration Task Force
• Supply Chain and Exports Task Force
• Technology Leadership Board
• Wells Task Force

Industry Cultural Change

Steve Phimister, VP and Director, Shell UK was appointed Industry Cultural Change Champion in 2017, this role alongside the task force leaders, acted as a catalyst for behavioural change to embed, sustain and accelerate the cultural change of the industry through the integration, prioritisation and sponsorship of change activities. Following a review of the task forces in 2020 this role was retired, culture is now integrated across all the task forces. More information about the work carried out between 2017 and 2020 can be found on the Cultural Change webpage.