The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning have published a rolling GOV.UK collection bringing together OPRED communications issued to stakeholders in 2026. First published on 20 January 2026 and last updated on 7 September 2026, the page acts as a single record of notices affecting offshore operators, emissions trading participants and other regulated parties. (gov.uk) Taken together, the entries show that OPRED has used the page less as a one-off announcement and more as a live administrative noticeboard. The updates span UK ETS free allocation, environmental reporting under OSPAR, marine noise co-ordination in the Southern North Sea Special Area of Conservation and internal leadership changes. (gov.uk)
The largest share of 2026 communications concerns the UK Emissions Trading Scheme. In January, OPRED relayed the UK ETS Authority’s publication of a new Activity Level Report template and reminded operators that the 2026 Activity Level Report deadline was 31 March. By March and April, the focus had shifted to Free Allocation Application Stage 2 for the 2027 to 2030 allocation period, including webinars on 26 March and 15 April 2026 and a formal application window running from 1 April to 30 June 2026. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) The compliance message was direct: operators that had completed stage 1 in the 1 April to 30 June 2025 baseline data exercise would only remain eligible for free allocation in 2027 to 2030 if they completed stage 2 within the 2026 window. OPRED repeated that warning in June, including a reminder that missing the 30 June 2026 deadline would make an installation ineligible for free allocation at any point in the period. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
According to the UK ETS Authority guidance carried by OPRED, stage 2 required operators to confirm whether they wished to proceed, identify which sub-installations served UK CBAM goods, and decide whether to exclude 2020 or both 2020 and 2021 from the 2027 to 2030 allocation calculation. The April supplementary guidance also made clear that most of the converted Baseline Data Report would be read-only, with the key action taking place in the new FA_Application sheet. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) For offshore operators, one point of clarity was especially important: the April stage 2 communication stated that offshore installations are not affected by the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, so their sub-installations would be treated as non-CBAM. The same pack said indicative free allocation values were expected in July 2026, regulators would forward documents to the UK ETS Authority by 30 September 2026, and the allocation table would be published by 1 January 2027. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
By early September, the process had moved from submission to review. OPRED told operators that updated Baseline Data Reports showing preliminary 2027 free allocation values would be available in METS by 11 September 2026, or sent by email for current Ultra Small Emitters without METS access. The regulator also said those preliminary values were subject to change, particularly where error corrections remained outstanding, and that applications would be sent to the UK ETS Authority for approval by 30 September 2026. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) The most recent addition, dated 7 September 2026, widened the page beyond administration of existing claims. In a targeted consultation, the UK ETS Authority sought views on two technical changes to free allocation rules for hydrogen production, including treatment of hydrogen supplied to another refinery or organic chemical installation and a split between UK CBAM and non-UK-CBAM production within a product benchmark sub-installation. The consultation closes at 23:59 on 2 October 2026. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
Outside the UK ETS material, OPRED used the page to keep up pressure on routine environmental reporting. April’s request for Annual Public Statements, followed by an urgent reminder in June, restated that operators of offshore installations must produce a statement covering the previous calendar year under the Environmental Management Systems provisions in OSPAR Recommendation 2003/5, with submissions requested by 1 July 2026. OPRED also said it treats both appointed well operators and installation operators as 'Operators' for these purposes and would publish the statements on its website. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) A separate July notice was narrower but still practical. OPRED said the F-gas list available for the AtmosHalogenInst return on the EEMS database had been updated, adding further refrigerants and related gases for reporting. For regulated businesses, such database changes matter because they affect how environmental returns are completed rather than changing the underlying policy duty itself. This final sentence is an inference from the reporting update and the EEMS notice. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
The collection also covers marine planning and nature protection. In May 2026, the Marine Management Organisation and OPRED issued a formal call for information on planned impulsive noise activities that could affect the Southern North Sea Special Area of Conservation during winter 2026 to 2027, defined as 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027. The request covered activities taking place within the site or with an Effective Deterrent Range overlapping it, and said the information would be used to forecast underwater noise levels and decide whether enhanced monitoring or a co-ordinated management approach was needed. The submission deadline was close of play on Thursday 28 May 2026. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) That exercise was repeated for summer 2027. A second call for information, added on 2 September 2026, asked developers and operators to provide details of planned activities between 1 April and 30 September 2027, using a standard data form for each activity type. MMO and OPRED said the information would be used to assess cumulative disturbance within the SAC, with submissions due by 17:00 on Friday 25 September 2026 under a trial joint process for both regulators. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
Other notices dealt with basic regulatory readiness and governance. On 30 January 2026, OPRED reminded responsible persons to provide information on trained oil spill response personnel and Oil Pollution Emergency Plan exercises for 2024, referring to duties under the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation Convention) Regulations 1998. Later in the year, the page recorded an interim director announcement in May and, on 21 August 2026, confirmed that Paul van Heyningen had been permanently appointed as Director of OPRED after Tom Child decided not to return to the role at the end of 2026; Teresa Munro remained Deputy Director and Chief Operations Officer. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) The administrative picture is clear. OPRED’s 2026 collection is not simply a filing cabinet for correspondence; in practice, it sets out the dates, templates and evidence flows that operators need to track across carbon pricing, environmental disclosure, marine activity planning and emergency preparedness. For policy teams and compliance managers, regular checking of the page is therefore part of normal regulatory housekeeping. This concluding assessment is an inference drawn from the sequence of published notices and deadlines. (gov.uk)