United Kingdom: Oil, Gas & Electricity

The Labour government's ambitious target of 150 Development Consent Order decisions faces a critical test as progress reaches the halfway mark of Parliament. With new Planning and Infrastructure Act provisions now in force and the first post-reform applications emerging, the infrastructure planning landscape is undergoing significant transformation that will shape the future of major development projects.

The UK government has released a substantially revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that introduces significant changes for infrastructure development, including expanded definitions of renewable energy, more permissive approaches for essential infrastructure in Green Belts, and new strategic planning requirements. The framework now expressly includes nuclear power, hydrogen, and even heat recovery from data centres within its renewable energy definition, while clarifying that wider environment

The UK energy sector is undergoing a profound transformation as major operators consolidate assets and shift from traditional exploration to technology-driven efficiency. As global majors adjust their footprints, new consolidated entities like Adura and NEO NEXT+ are emerging, leveraging proprietary innovation, digital twins, and late-life optimization to extract value from mature North Sea fields while navigating complex tax regimes and regulatory constraints.