21 Bloomsbury
Street
London WC1B 3HF
Benjamin Dean
By email to:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Our ref: FOI-2020-0066
22 December 2020
Dear Mr Dean,
Thank you for your email of
24 November, in which you requested:
“In a Drill or Drop article published on 13 October 2020 the Managing Director for Third Energy, Russell Hoare disclosed that his Company
received in January 2019 an Order to plug and abandon all Third Energy’s wells in the region. I assume ‘region’ refers to Third Energy’s
North Yorkshire gas field.
This Order has to be of significant public interest and I request you provide me with a copy of the January 2019 Order.
Further, the January 2019 Order may have implications with regards to planning conditions attached to the various planning permissions
for Third Energy’s wells and I request the date and a copy of the email or letter to the local minerals planning authority, North Yorkshire
County Council advising them of your Order for Third Energy to plug and abandon its wells by January 2021.
Similarly, plugging and abandoning so many wells in the region at such short notice poses a significant environmental risk and I request you
advise me of the date you advised the Environment Agency of your Order and supply me with a copy of the email or letter to the
Environment Agency advising them of your Order for Third Energy to plug and abandon all its wells in the region..”
We have considered your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(
FOIA) and, where relevant, the Environmental Information Regulations 2004
(EIR).
Please find attached the OGA’s “order” (or notice as it is officially called) to Third
Energy which falls into the scope of your request.
The OGA does not hold any communications with North Yorkshire County Council or
the Environment Agency directly relating to the order to plug and abandon wells.
Section 40 FOIA and Regulation 13(1) EIR (Personal Data)
Oil and Gas Authority is a limited company registered in England and Wales with registered number 09666504 and VAT registered number 249433979. Our registered
office is at 21 Bloomsbury Street, London, United Kingdom, WC1B 3HF. For information about how we process data and monitor communications please see our Privacy
Statement and for terms of use please see our Terms and Conditions, both available on our website.
You will note that some of the information in the attachments (notices) , including
names, signatures and contact details, has been redacted as it constitutes personal
information.
Section 40(2) provides that personal data is exempt from disclosure if one of the
conditions in Section 40(3A) is satisfied. One of the conditions in Section 40(3A) is a
breach of any of the data protection principles in the Data Protection Act 2018. The
data protection principles include that any processing of personal data must be fair
and lawful. The provisions of Regulation 13(1) EIRs mirror those of Section 40(2).
The OGA considers that disclosure of the names, signatures and contact details of
the individuals would breach the principles of fairness and lawfulness. The
individuals whose details have been withheld have and are entitled to an expectation
of privacy. In any event, the relevant individuals have not consented to their personal
data being disclosed.
As such, disclosure would meet neither the fair nor lawful processing principles. In
light of this the personal data is being withheld under Section 40 FOIA and
Regulation 13(1) EIR.
This concludes the OGA’s handling of your request.
Appeals Procedure
If you are unhappy with the way the OGA has handled your request, you may
request an internal review. A request for an internal review should be made within 40
working days of the date of receipt of the response to your request and should be
addressed to: FOI Manager, Oil and Gas Authority, 21 Bloomsbury Street, London,
WC1B 3HF Email
: xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xx.xx Please quote the reference number above in any future communications with regard
to this request.
If you are unhappy with the outcome of the internal review, you may contact the
Information Commissioner
at www.ico.org.uk or at Information Commissioner’s
Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Yours sincerely
FOI Officer.
Oil and Gas Authority is a limited company registered in England and Wales with registered number 09666504 and VAT registered number 249433979. Our registered
office is at 21 Bloomsbury Street, London, United Kingdom, WC1B 3HF. For information about how we process data and monitor communications please see our Privacy
Statement and for terms of use please see our Terms and Conditions, both available on our website.