Two new board members at the UK’s oil regulator have tens of thousands of pounds invested in Shell and BP.
The holdings are disclosed in the latest annual report of the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), the government body which issues licences to companies that want to explore for and produce oil and gas in UK waters.
The NSTA approved plans for the controversial Jackdaw and Rosebank fields – both now linked to Shell – under the last Conservative government, before those consents were effectively quashed in 2025.
Ian Chisholm has over 1,600 shares in Shell, which were valued at £58,510 when he declared them in March, while Rebecca Wiles’ 3,348 BP shares were worth £19,150 at the start of May.
Chisholm worked in a number of finance roles at Shell and is a trustee director of the company’s UK pension fund. Wiles worked for BP for more than 30 years and is now a director of Tullow Oil, which is currently decommissioning old wells in the North Sea.
Critics said the shareholdings raise questions about the regulator’s independence and impartiality. One campaigner described the situation as a “dangerous conflict of interests”, while a regulatory expert claimed the public could perceive the NSTA as “captured” by the industry and called on directors to sell their oil shares.
The NSTA, however, argued that none of its powers could “materially impact” the value of Wiles and Chisholm’s shares.
The regulator told The Ferret its board is made up of “highly experienced professionals from a range of backgrounds”. But it added that direct experience of the oil and gas industry was “vital” to regulating a “highly specialised sector”.
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Another new addition to the organisation’s board this year is Mitch Flegg, the former chief executive of Serica Energy – one of the North Sea biggest producers. Flegg is an ex-board member of Offshore Energies UK, the trade body that represents the sector.
The NSTA’s chief executive, Stuart Payne, previously held positions at Dana Petroleum and Shell. Another board member, Malcolm Brown, spent four decades in the oil and gas industry and was a senior executive at BG Group.
In 2021, The Ferret reported that three directors at the NSTA – which was then known as the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) – held shares linked to the fossil fuel industry worth more than £225,000.
“It is almost impossible to see how the organisation can remain impartial when directors continue, after appointment, to hold shares in the very industry they regulate and licence.” — Andrew Watterson, University of Stirling
They included Iain Lanaghan, who stepped down from the board this year with shares in Shell and BP worth nearly £19,000 combined.
The NSTA was founded in 2015 as the OGA, following the Wood Review – a government probe into maximising North Sea oil recovery led by the late billionaire, Sir Ian Wood.
It has a controversial double mandate, to maximise "economic recovery" of oil and gas from the North Sea, while also supporting the transition to net zero emissions.
The NSTA is responsible for issuing licences for new oil and gas fields, although some projects also need agreement from the UK energy secretary before they can be signed off.
The NSTA was the body that initially approved the Rosebank oil field in 2023, as well as the Jackdaw gas project the previous year. Both projects are now controlled by Adura, a joint venture between Shell and Norwegian company Equinor.
Rosebank and Jackdaw have since stalled after the consents issued by the NSTA were effectively quashed by the Court of Session in Edinburgh last year.
The court ruled that the climate impacts of burning the fossil fuels produced by the two fields had not been fully considered. New environmental statements for both projects were lodged in July, with a final decision on whether they can go ahead to be taken by the UK Government.
The NSTA can also investigate and fine companies that break rules on issues such as the flaring and venting of excess gas and the decommissioning of old wells.
Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift, one of the environmental campaign groups that brought the case to the Court of Session, said the NSTA's close ties to the industry amounted to a “dangerous conflict of interests” given its role in decisions over projects like Rosebank and Jackdaw.
Khan said: “It is outrageous that people who are supposed to be regulating the oil and gas industry also have a direct financial interest in companies that are subject to that regulation.
“It is outrageous that people who are supposed to be regulating the oil and gas industry also have a direct financial interest in companies that are subject to that regulation.” — Tessa Khan, Uplift
“The NSTA should be putting the public interest first, not the profits of oil bosses and their shareholders.”
Andrew Watterson, an expert in regulation at the University of Stirling, argued the NSTA was “one of the most openly conflicted regulators in the UK” and that the public could perceive it as “captured” by the industry.
“The NSTA operates, it seems, an always open revolving door for oil executives to join its board,” he said. “It is almost impossible to see how the organisation can remain impartial when directors continue, after appointment, to hold shares in the very industry they regulate and licence.”
Watterson added that if the NSTA wanted to ensure it was acting with “fairness and balance”, and that it is “perceived as doing so by the public, all its directors should sell their oil, gas and related industries’ shares”.
An NSTA spokesperson said its board comprised “highly experienced professionals from a range of backgrounds and is chaired by Liz Ditchburn, a public sector leader.”
“Of course, some NSTA board members have direct experience of working in the oil and gas industry,” they continued. “This knowledge and expertise are vital in enabling the NSTA to regulate what is a highly specialised sector.
“They are complemented by directors who bring knowledge of other industries and other regulators.”
The NSTA said directors must declare financial interests each year and withdraw from discussions at board meetings where a conflict arises. The organisation’s annual accounts – where its register of interests is published – said the interests declared by Chisholm, Wiles and other directors were not considered to be “sufficiently significant to impair independent judgements in board discussions”.
In April, the NSTA issued what is said was its biggest fine to date to oil company EnQuest for failing to decommission 33 inactive wells.
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Paul is an investigative journalist with a focus on the environment, energy and climate change. His work has been featured by Channel 4 News and the UK’s leading newspapers. When not Ferreting he can be found walking and listening to podcasts.
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