Guidance
Decommissioning standalone onshore oil and gas wells: RPS 254
Environment Agency regulatory position on decommissioning standalone onshore oil and gas wells drilled before 1 October 2013.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
When decommissioning a standalone onshore oil and gas well, this regulatory position statement (RPS) does not change your legal requirement to:
- get an environmental permit
- comply with other relevant legislation
However, if you meet the requirements in the RPS, the Environment Agency will not normally take enforcement action if you do not have a permit for a mining waste operation to:
- manage extractive waste from decommissioning oil and gas wells
- carry out monitoring
The regulatory position does not apply to any other legal requirements.
Updates to this page
Published 28 January 2022
Last updated 19 March 2025
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Extended the next review date for this regulatory position statement to 31 December 2027.
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First published.