Oil and gas operators working in the UK sector of the North Sea do not have full access to up-to-date information about current threats to their offshore infrastructure. This is because offshore energy facilities are not officially recognized as critical national infrastructure, which limits the sharing of intelligence between government agencies and the industry.

Information Sharing Limitations

The lack of critical infrastructure status for offshore energy assets makes it difficult for the industry to access existing UK energy management systems. As a result, operators face challenges in obtaining timely data on potential threats.

Increase in Activity and Threats

Over the past two years, Russian naval activity related to mapping and reconnaissance of infrastructure near British waters has increased by 30%. This prompted the UK government to publicly highlight potential threats to the country’s energy and communications infrastructure.

Security Measures and Challenges

The industry follows strict security protocols, but assessing the intentions of state actors and the pace at which risks are growing remains difficult. While there have been only a few recorded incidents involving drones near offshore infrastructure, the main concern is the risk of insider attacks and cyber incidents, as the sector faces hundreds of attacks daily.

Information Sharing Initiatives

In April last year, plans were announced to create a security reporting portal aimed at streamlining the process of notifying and responding to suspicious activity in the offshore energy sector. However, this portal has not yet been implemented. In March, a reporting mechanism was launched in collaboration with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Exercises and Cooperation Proposals

In response to growing threats, Granite Security exercises were conducted with North Sea operators to test resilience against various risks. The industry is urging the UK to follow Norway’s example and establish a regular maritime forum that brings together the offshore sector and security services to improve situational awareness across the industry.

Infrastructure Repair Challenges

There is a shortage of repair teams skilled in restoring underwater cables and pipelines. Obtaining security clearance for employees involved in repairs takes considerable time, creating potential bottlenecks in ensuring energy resilience.

Responsibility and Preparedness Issues

For oil and gas operators, it remains unclear who would bear the risks in the event of an attack. Companies can cover financial losses from isolated shutdowns for safety reasons, but it is uncertain how the system would respond to a large-scale attack affecting multiple sites at once.

Requests to the Government

The industry is raising questions about standards for uptime, repair speed, and the creation of a national resource for restoring pipelines and cables. These issues require discussion with the government to strengthen the resilience of the energy infrastructure.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero was approached for comment.