Q - How is the annual membership fee derived? 

A – OPOL is a not-for-profit organisation and the annual membership fee is used solely to pay for the costs and expenses of OPOL incurred in the administration of the OPOL Agreement (mainly salary costs and third-party professional service provider fees). The costs to administer the OPOL Agreement are largely fixed and do not fluctuate significantly with changes in member numbers. Those costs are shared equally across the membership.  

Q – We have plugged all our wells, do we still need OPOL membership? 

A – OPOL membership is not required if the installations comprising the Offshore Facility (as defined in the OPOL Agreement ) have been decommissioned or, for installations remaining in situ pending removal, are hydrocarbon free. For wells, OPOL membership is not required for wells that have been “permanently abandoned” as defined in the OPOL Agreement;  

“Permanently Abandoned” means, in relation to a well: (i) the removal of the wellhead and conductor with the intention that the well will never be used or re-entered again; and (ii) the well having been removed from the well examination, maintenance and testing scheme required to be put in place pursuant to regulation 11 (1) of The Offshore Installations (Offshore Safety Directive) (Safety Case Etc) Regulations 2015 (or predecessor or replacement legislation or any equivalent or similar scheme in respect of a well located within the jurisdiction of the UK) or, in respect of a well located within the jurisdiction of a Designated State other than the UK, such well having been removed from any equivalent or similar scheme in that Designated State.

Both limbs of the definition must be satisfied. In practice this will normally mean that the well will have been granted AB3 Status under the North Sea Transition Authority’s (NSTA’s) Well Operations Notifications System (WONS). 

Q – We are already an OPOL member and have recently acquired an existing licence from another operator, do we need another OPOL membership? 

A – Every legal entity which is a ‘Licence Operator’, being either a Licence (Exploration) Operator or a Field Operator, as approved by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), and which has operations requiring OPOL membership, must become an OPOL member and provide evidence of financial responsibility using the relevant FR forms. Therefore, where an existing licence is acquired through an asset sale and purchase, the acquiring legal entity will not need another OPOL membership in respect of the acquired licence if it is already a member of OPOL. Note however that if the acquisition is made by another entity in the existing OPOL member’s company group, that other entity will need to become a member of OPOL if it is not already a member. Where an existing licence is acquired by the direct or indirect acquisition of the share capital of the operator of the acquired licence (a “change of control”), that operator will require to remain (or to become) a member of OPOL following the change in control.   

Q – If we terminate our membership, do we get a rebate of our membership fee? 

A – OPOL’s membership fee is based on an annual membership and no rebates are given. OPOL’s annual costs are largely fixed and the reimbursement of membership fees during a membership year could result in OPOL incurring a shortfall. 

Q – How do we terminate membership of OPOL? 

A – In order to terminate membership of OPOL within a calendar year, a Notice of Termination form must be given to OPOL at admin@opol.org.uk by 30 September in that year i.e., if membership is not required in 2026, notice must be given by 30 September 2025 (this is because termination of OPOL requires a minimum of 3 months’ notice). A form of Notice of Termination is available on this website. If notice of termination is not received by 30 September in any year, membership of OPOL will continue into the following year and, as a result, the annual subscription for that following year will be payable in full, notwithstanding that membership may only be for a portion of that following year.

Q - We are a member of OPOL but are not currently an Operator. Can we remain as an OPOL member?

If a member ceases to be an Operator in terms of the OPOL Agreement and its evidence of financial responsibility has expired, or is time-limited, but it does not wish to terminate its membership of OPOL then it can remain as a member of OPOL but must complete and submit a Form D to notify  OPOL accordingly. A Form D can be downloaded here

Q - What credit or financial strength rating is required by OPOL?

A - OPOL requires an Insurer, a Guarantor or a Self-insurer to have one or more of the following credit or financial strength ratings: A- or higher from Standard & Poor’s, A- or better from A. M. Best, A3 or higher from Moody’s, A or higher from Fitch and/or the equivalent from another internationally recognised credit rating agency acceptable to OPOL.

Q - Who is an Operator for the purposes of OPOL?

A - For the purposes of OPOL, the Operator is the entity authorised to (and who does) manage, conduct and control the operations of an Offshore Facility. In practice, this is the entity approved by the NSTA as the Licence (Exploration) Operator and/or the Field Operator. It is not the Well or Installation Operator (although the same entity may in practice hold these roles), and it is not a sub-contracted duty holder or any other entity to whom an Operator has sub-contracted duties or responsibilities. For more information, see the NSTA website section on “Operatorship”.