United Kingdom: Oil, Gas & Electricity

The UK Government has introduced a new procurement policy note requiring public authorities to prioritize national security considerations when procuring in four critical sectors: energy infrastructure, steel, AI, and shipbuilding. This market-shaping approach mandates collaboration with designated Sector Leads and fundamentally changes how contracting authorities must assess value for money, moving beyond immediate commercial outcomes to consider long-term strategic resilience and supply chain security.

Ofgem has launched a consultation on draft licence conditions for Competitively Appointed Transmission Owners (CATOs), introducing an Early Competition model for developing onshore transmission assets. The proposed regulatory framework governs CATOs across the full project lifecycle, from design and construction through to operation and eventual decommissioning.

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.

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As nuclear fusion technology moves closer to commercial viability, a critical question emerges: should patent protection be extended when mandatory regulatory processes consume years of the standard 20-year patent term? This analysis examines whether the patent system adequately incentivizes investment in fusion energy, where foundational inventions may expire just as they become commercially deployable.

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

Where there's smoke, there's usually fire, but in the world of smoke-detector testing, the whole point is to simulate one without the other. In No Climb Products Ltd v Gas Safe Europe Ltd [2026] EWHC 908 (IPEC), handed down on 22 April 2026...

Jones Day partners Michelle T. Davies and Martin Stewart-Smith lead an expert panel exploring the UK's Competitively Appointed Transmission Owner (CATO) regime, examining its significance in today's energy and infrastructure landscape. The discussion reveals what this competitive framework means for investors, stakeholders, and the future of electricity transmission in the United Kingdom.

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.