1. Permits and other permissions for onshore oil and gas activities
Permits, licences and other permissions you will need to carry out onshore oil and gas activities.
You must apply for a mining waste permit for onshore oil and gas activities.
You may also need one or more of these other types of environmental permit:
- radioactive substances activity permit
- A1 installation permit
- groundwater activity permit
- water discharge activity permit
- flood risk activity permit
Bespoke environmental permits
You must apply for a bespoke permit if:
- there is no standard rules permit for the activities you want to carry out
- multiple interconnected activities will be taking place
- you cannot meet the relevant criteria in the standard rules permits for oil and gas activities
- you are carrying out a groundwater activity
- your site includes a mining waste facility
- your site is in a source protection zone (SPZ) 2 or at a place where there is a risk to groundwater
The Environment Agency will not approve an application to drill for oil and gas through a SPZ 1. You may get permission to drill horizontally underneath a SPZ 1 following a site-specific assessment.
Standard rules permits for oil and gas
You can apply for a standard rules permit if you:
- do not already have a mining waste or oil storage permit for the site
- can meet the relevant criteria in the standard rules permit
Standard rules sets
You must apply for a water abstraction licence if you plan to directly abstract more than 20 cubic metres of water a day. This threshold applies to the total amount of water you plan to abstract, not to each abstraction point from the same water source.
The guide Water management: abstract or impound water has more information about when you need an abstraction licence.
For information about how to apply and the forms to use see the guide Water management: apply for a water abstraction or impoundment licence.
If you plan to abstract groundwater from a borehole or well, you may need to apply for a separate groundwater investigation consent in order to:
- construct the borehole or well
- complete test pumping
Contact your local Environment Agency office if you are planning to do this.
Abstracting water for hydraulic fracturing
When you apply for a water abstraction licence, you must include an assessment of the quantities of water you will need.
If you are applying for a water abstraction licence to carry out hydraulic fracturing, your assessment must include:
- the extent of the wells and laterals and the properties of the target shales
- the numbers of wells and laterals you will hydraulically fracture
- whether you will carry out singular or multi-stage hydraulic fracturing
- the timing and duration of the hydraulic fracturing operations and whether the source of water will cover a single well pad or multiple well-pads
- what proportion of the flowback fluid you can recycle (including timing of flowback in relation to subsequent hydraulic fracturing operations)
Many abstraction licences contain conditions to reduce abstraction when river flows and groundwater levels fall. In severe drought, the Environment Agency may take action to restrict:
- direct abstraction from rivers and groundwater
- the demand on mains water supplies
These restrictions could affect the timing and extent of hydraulic fracturing activities. You should plan for this so you can adapt your operations to deal with changing water availability.
When you do not need a water abstraction licence
You do not need a water abstraction licence for these activities:
- using water from the mains water supply - it is the water company’s responsibility to make sure the extra demand for water created by your activities fits within the conditions of their water resource plans and abstraction licences
- removing formation water from below ground - the Environment Agency classifies this as removing liquid matter as part of mineral recovery
You also do not need a water abstraction licence if you are removing formation water with hydraulic fracturing fluid. The Environment Agency classifies this as removing liquid matter as part of mineral recovery. Shales are not part of the active water cycle. They are an impermeable rock and are unlikely to produce a useable quantity of water.
Abstracting water for coal bed methane extraction
If you abstract water to reduce the pressure on the coal bed strata this activity is no longer exempt and you will need to apply for an abstraction licence if you want to abstract more than 20 cubic metres per day.
Please contact the Environment Agency if you are planning to abstract water for coal bed methane extraction so that they can give you advice. There are transitional arrangements in place for previously exempt abstractions. These will allow you to carry on abstracting water while the Environment Agency determines your licence application.
Before you can drill a new borehole for hydrocarbon or mineral extraction, or extend an existing one, you must send the Environment Agency a notice of intention to drill for minerals. This applies to boreholes on new or existing sites.
You do this by submitting a form WR11 Notice of intention to drill for minerals.
You must submit this with a method statement showing how you will carry out work in a way that protects groundwater and surface water. In your method statement, include information about:
- drilling methods and all drilling fluid compositions
- casing details and a description of how these will make sure that groundwater resources are protected during and after the installation works
You must base this statement on the groundwater (hydrogeological) risk assessment you have prepared to support your planning or permit applications.
You must send your notice to the Environment Agency at least one month before you start drilling. The only exception to this would be in an emergency. However, to avoid delays, the Environment Agency recommends you submit your notification as early as possible.
You must apply to the relevant mineral planning authority (MPA) for planning permission to carry out onshore oil and gas activities.
You may need to produce an environmental impact assessment (EIA) to support your planning application. Find out more about EIAs.
You should contact your MPA for a formal screening opinion to assess whether you need to produce an EIA.
If your activities could significantly affect the health and wellbeing of the local population, your MPA may:
- ask you to produce a health impact assessment
- consult the Director of Public Health
You must look at all potential environmental emissions and assess the impact they could have on human health. You should do this early on in the application process.
You may also find it useful to read Guidelines for addressing public health in environmental impact assessments for onshore oil and gas.
The Environment Agency is a statutory consultee for onshore oil and gas planning applications and EIAs. The MPA will ask them to look at some of the information you have provided for your planning application.
To streamline the process, you should:
- contact the Environment Agency before you apply for planning permission – they can provide advice that will help you produce technical documents (such as an EIA) that meet planning and permitting requirements
- apply for planning permission and any permits at the same time, if possible
See section 6.1 Get advice before you apply for permits.
Also see the guidance Developments requiring planning permission and environmental permits.
The COMAH regulations aim to prevent major accidents involving dangerous substances. If you have certain quantities of dangerous substances on your site you may need to comply with the COMAH regulations. Examples of dangerous substances include crude oil, compressed gases, bulk fuels or treatment chemicals.
You can find more information in: