Morning, Monday, 15th September 2025
Online
This conference will explore the future of the UK’s offshore sector, examining how to strategically harness its full potential across energy production, environmental stewardship, and economic development.
Delegates will discuss the evolving role of oil and gas, offshore wind, carbon capture, hydrogen, marine spatial planning, and the challenges of co-locating multiple uses within shared offshore areas.
It will bring together key stakeholders and policymakers to consider the Government’s evolving strategy to position the North Sea as a clean energy hub, including the transition away from fossil fuels, support for emerging industries, and implications of recent consultations such as Building the North Sea’s Energy Future and the Oil and Gas Price Mechanism Consultation. Discussion will assess the outlook for new licensing, the long-term role of existing oil and gas fields, and the design of a fiscal regime post-Energy Profits Levy, alongside wider questions of energy security, price volatility, and investor confidence.
Sessions will also explore how to deliver a just and inclusive offshore transition, with a focus on workforce planning, skills and training, and regional growth. Delegates will review proposals such as a skills passport for offshore workers, and consider strategies to ensure high-quality employment in low-carbon sectors, including how to align reskilling with local opportunities, address fair pay and working conditions, and engage communities historically linked to oil and gas.
With the offshore environment facing increasing demands, further sessions will assess how to balance competing priorities, including energy development, environmental protection, and commercial activity such as fishing and shipping. Challenges around co-location of technologies and marine users will be a key area of discussion, as the role of regulatory bodies in supporting effective coordination, spatial planning, and long-term governance.
Attendees will also examine infrastructure development and decommissioning, reviewing funding models, regulatory frameworks, and the potential to repurpose existing assets. The role of institutions such as Great British Energy and the North Sea Transition Authority in managing and regulating this evolving landscape will also be a focus.
With the agenda currently in development, areas for discussion include:
- policy and regulation: next steps following the Oil and Gas Price Mechanism Consultation - designing a post-EPL fiscal framework - maintaining investor confidence across legacy and emerging sectors
- offshore strategy: implications of Building the North Sea’s Energy Future - managing the transition from oil and gas - energy security and net zero alignment
- marine spatial planning and co-location: coordinating multiple offshore uses - addressing conflicts between sectors - enabling coexistence through policy and technology
- energy mix and transition: practical and strategic planning for the future role of oil and gas, offshore wind, carbon capture, and hydrogen - aligning with long-term climate and economic goals
- just transition and workforce: evaluating the skills passport - supporting reskilling and career transitions - ensuring good quality employment and addressing regional disparities
- investment and finance: fiscal stability and investor confidence - mechanisms for de-risking investment in clean energy - supporting innovation and industrial capacity
- infrastructure and supply chains: scaling delivery of offshore renewables and low-carbon projects - strengthening supply chains - planning for shared infrastructure use
- decommissioning and reuse: frameworks for funding, liability, and oversight - integrating decommissioning into transition planning - identifying opportunities for infrastructure repurposing
- governance and institutional coordination: roles of the NSTA and GBE - aligning regulatory responsibilities across sectors - enabling long-term strategic oversight
- place-based development: ensuring benefits for communities connected to legacy industries - supporting devolved and local government leadership - aligning infrastructure, skills, and investment with regional priorities
