Skip to main content
London, United Kingdom

United Kingdom

Validation status
High
Joined
15 October 2014
Latest validation
2021
Latest data from
2021
Visit the country website

Overview and role of the EITI

The United Kingdom’s extractive industries include oil and gas, mining and quarrying.  The sector has made a sizeable contribution to the UK economy for many years and remains an important sector, particularly oil and gas production. Construction minerals (principally crushed rock, sand and gravel aggregates) represent the largest materials flow. 

The UK was a prime mover behind the establishment of the EITI and became an implementing country in 2014 to show leadership in the global anti-corruption agenda.  The UK has been using the EITI platform to bring together data from a wide range of sources in an accessible format, with a view to strengthen public understanding of the extractive industries. UK EITI reporting helps to identify the contribution that the sector makes to the economic and social development of the country.

Economic contribution of the extractive industries

3.34%
to exports
.79%
to GDP
.20%
to total government revenues
.17%
to employment
  • Step 1
  • Step 2
  • Step 3

Download country data

Download open data on government and company revenues, revenues by revenue stream and indicator, summary data and more.


Innovations and policy reforms

  • The UK has a strong record on data timeliness. UK EITI publishes its payments reports within six to seven months after the end of a financial year.
  • In May 2020, UK EITI launched a new website that allows information and data to be updated as soon as it is available.  The website is a platform for publication of news stories, data and policy developments relevant to the UK oil, gas and mining sectors.  
  • In 2018, UK EITI produced a feasibility study to explore opportunities for disclosing EITI data at source through government and company systems.
  • EITI conducted a mapping exercise of government and other initiatives relevant to the energy transition with a view to support national debate. It is considering gaps and opportunities for EITI to add value to this area, and the UK EITI website provides related updates and resources.  

“The UK has long championed greater transparency in extractives industries. The UK is also leading by example domestically. As Minister for Climate Change and Corporate Responsibility, I recognise the importance of transparency in creating good business environments and ensuring that businesses can be held to account, and I commend EITI's efforts in this area.”

Lord Callanan UK EITI Champion and Minister for Climate Change and Corporate Responsibility at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Extractive sector data

Production and exports

Crude Oil

Revenue collection

Level of detail 2

Revenue distribution

2021
Standardised revenue types

Top paying companies

2021

Extractive sector management

License and contracts

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) regulates the licensing of exploration and development of the UK’s offshore and onshore oil and gas resources, carbon storage, gas storage and unloading activities. The NSTA has discretion in the granting of licenses to help ensure the economic recovery of the UK’s oil and gas resources, while supporting the drive to net zero carbon by 2050. The NSTA publishes current oil and gas licenses under their Petroleum e-business assignments and relinquishment system (PEARS).

As mineral rights are vest in landowners rather than the state (apart from oil, gas, coal, gold and silver), there is no single, national licensing system for the exploration and extraction of minerals. 

A range of government bodies and agencies grant licenses and contracts that govern the exploration and exploitation of oil, gas and minerals, which are listed on the UK EITI website.

The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 create a legal requirement for all advertised public sector procurement opportunities and contract awards above certain thresholds to be published on Contracts Finder.

Beneficial ownership

Companies registered in the UK are required to submit information on their beneficial owners in accordance with the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. This data is available via the people with significant control (PSC) register, which was established in June 2016 and is part of the Companies House register. The register includes beneficial ownership data for individuals who hold more than 25% of shares or voting rights in a company.

In September 2021, the UK joined the Beneficial Ownership Leadership Group and signed up to the best practice beneficial ownership disclosure principles. In March 2022, the UK government approved the Beneficial Ownership Data Standard for the collection, use and distribution of beneficial ownership data.

Revenue distribution

The UK government publishes full details of its income and expenditures (outturn figures, estimates and forecasts). Budget forecasting is overseen by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility. Government accounts are audited by the National Audit Office and scrutinised by the Public Accounts Committee

With very few exceptions, central government receipts are not earmarked for specific items or types of expenditure. However, as stipulated by Miscellaneous Financial Provisions Act 1968, the Northern Ireland government is entitled to £1.7 million of extractive revenue shares for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.

All revenues from extractive operations in Scotland go to the Scottish Consolidated Fund, and it is the responsibility of Scottish Ministers to decide how this is used.

Learn more about revenue allocations on the UK EITI website.


EITI implementation

Governance

UK EITI is administered by the UK Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG). The MSG is hosted by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and is chaired by Matthew Ray, Deputy Director of Company Law and Transparency at BEIS. It is comprised of representatives from government, industry and civil society.

Timeline

Validation

The United Kingdom achieved a high overall score (90 points) in implementing the EITI Standard in October 2021. The next Validation is expected to begin in October 2024.

Scorecard

Latest Validation: 20 October 2021
Year

Assessment of EITI requirements

  • Not met
  • Partly met
  • Mostly met
  • Fully met
  • Exceeded
Component View more
Score

The three components of Validation each receive a score out of 100, as follows:

Low 0-49
Fairly low 50-69
Moderate 70-84
High 85-92
Very high 93-100
View more

Outcomes and impact

91 High
Scorecard by requirement
Assessment
Assessment of EITI Requirements

Validation assesses the extent to which each EITI Requirement is met, using five categories. The component score is an average of the points awarded for each requirement that falls within the component.

Outcomes and impact

1.5 Work plan

90

There is no evidence of back-sliding since the previous Validation, in which Requirement 1.5 was assessed as “satisfactory progress”.

7.1 Public debate

90

Resolution of conflicts within the civil society constituency has allowed the MSG to focus more attention on outreach and dissemination of UKEITI findings. There is clear evidence of progress since the previous validation on the coordination of communication activities to explain and promote EITI data.

7.2 Data accessibility and open data

90

The launch of the new UKEITI website in 2020 has made a tangible improvement in the MSG’s efforts to make UKEITI data comprehensible and accessible. The new website is widely viewed by MSG members as a robust platform through which the UK can centralise extractive data that is systematically disclosed on various government and company websites. On the extractive industries’ contribution to the economy, the ONS publishes gross value-added data, the Department for BEIS publishes employment data and the OGA publishes government oil and gas revenues in open format, although data on government revenues from mining and quarrying are not yet published in open format.

7.3 Follow up on recommendations

90

There is a clear mechanism for the MSG’s consistent follow-up on recommendations from past EITI Reports and Validation, with reforms since the previous Validation for instance in systematic disclosures of licensing rules across the 11 licensing authorities in the UK as a result of follow-up on EITI recommendations.

7.4 Review of outcomes and impact of implementation

90

The MSG has undertaken efforts to review the outcomes and impact of the EITI beyond the minimum required aspects of this provision. Having published annual progress reports in the 2014-2018 period, the MSG transitioned to a standalone impact study in 2020 that sought views from different stakeholders on EITI implementation in 2013-2020. The requirement’s overall objective of regular public monitoring and evaluation of implementation that ensures the EITI’s accountability has been addressed. However, encouraged aspects of the requirement including documentation of the MSG’s efforts to take gender considerations and inclusiveness into account have not yet been comprehensively addressed, which implies that Requirement 7.4 has not yet been exceeded.

Effectiveness and sustainability indicators

1

Stakeholder engagement

90 High
Scorecard by requirement
Assessment
Assessment of EITI Requirements

Validation assesses the extent to which each EITI Requirement is met, using five categories. The component score is an average of the points awarded for each requirement that falls within the component.

Multi-stakeholder oversight

1.1 Government engagement

90

The government is actively engaged in EITI implementation. There is robust representation across relevant government departments on the MSG.

1.2 Company engagement

90

With some exceptions related to some of the financial data on government revenues, the data curated on the UKEITI website appears to be consistently and systematically disclosed by individual reporting agencies and organisations. Stakeholder consultations have consistently suggested that the main value added by the UKEITI website is the collection, curation, and presentation of data that is disclosed elsewhere.

1.3 Civil society engagement

90

Civil society is actively engaged in EITI implementation, having resolved the civil society constituency challenges that were disruptive in the period covered by the previous Validation. The civil society constituency’s efforts, supported by the UKEITI Secretariat, to engage stakeholders from communities hosting extractive activities are commendable, even if they have not yet been successful in ensuring direct participation of such groups on the MSG.

1.4 MSG governance

90

The MSG appears to be functioning in an efficient and equitable manner, with adequate representation from the three constituencies and robust representation across relevant government departments. The pandemic has curtailed MSG plans for in-person outreach across the country, which has affected progress to build local stakeholder engagement. The MSG appears to be fulfilling its role of representing the views of the three broader constituencies, within the constraints of limited public interest in UKEITI findings and local stakeholders’ capacity constraints.

Transparency

90.5 High
Scorecard by requirement
Assessment
Assessment of EITI Requirements

Validation assesses the extent to which each EITI Requirement is met, using five categories. The component score is an average of the points awarded for each requirement that falls within the component.

Overview of the extractive industries

3.1 Exploration data

90

The UKEITI disclosures on its website and through its UKEITI annual reviews continue to provide comprehensive information on the extractive industries and their contribution to the economy. This information is systematically disclosed on government websites.

6.3 Contribution of the extractive sector to the economy

90

Legal and fiscal framework

2.1 Legal framework

100

The UKEITI disclosures and respective government websites continue to provide comprehensive information on the legal environment and fiscal regime for the extractive industries, with reference to systematic disclosures.

2.4 Contracts

75

UKEITI has described the policies and practices of each of the 11 licensing authorities in the absence of an overarching government policy on disclosure of all extractive contracts. All NSTA licenses are publicly disclosed in full text. The 20121 Report documents these disclsoures and notes that the UK has mostly met the objective of Requirement 2.4 in ensuring public accessibility of licenses and contracts in the extractive sector. There however several gaps in disclosures related to the technical aspects of the requirement, specifically relating to public accessibility of all licenses and contracts.

6.4 Environmental impact

Not assessed

The UK has not yet fully met the objective of this requirement, which is therefore marked as “not assessed”. The UK has not provided relevant legal and administrative rules for environmental management but has shared high-level details on how policy is expected to restrict domestic petroleum extraction and may revive domestic minerals extraction, with a particular focus on climate policy. Nonetheless, the 2021 report highlights the independent Committee on Climate Change as the main advisory body to the government on the energy transition, and the North Sea Transition Deal as a government agreement with petroleum producers to address the energy transition and protect energy jobs.

Licenses

2.2 Contract and license allocations

90

Stakeholders consulted appeared to consider that the objective of providing a public overview of awards and transfers of oil, gas and mining licences, the statutory procedures for licence awards and transfers and whether these procedures are followed in practice had been achieved despite what were considered to be minor technical gaps in disclosures. The number of data gaps has significantly declined since the period reviewed in the previous Validation.

2.3 Register of licenses

90

In the 2021 Report stakeholders consulted agree that the requirement’s objective of ensuring the public accessibility of comprehensive information on property rights related to extractive deposits and projects had been fulfilled. The number of data gaps has significantly declined since the period reviewed in the previous Validation. Licence registers are available online from most licensing authorities that have issued active licences, leases and options in the mining or petroleum sectors, and cover all active licences regardless of the materiality of the licence holder's payments to government.

Ownership

2.5 Beneficial ownership

90

The government has established a clear policy on and definition of beneficial ownership in law and regulation. Beneficial ownership information is collected and made publicly available by Companies House for entities that hold and apply for licenses in the extractives industry. Quality assurances are in place and publicly documented, while the Companies House beneficial ownership registry covers all extractives companies. UKEITI reporting has highlighted publicly listed companies and identified the stock exchanges where they are listed and has disclosed specific links to relevant companies’ stock exchange filings in accordance with Requirement 2.5.f.iii as part of the 2020 Payments Report published after the start of Validation.

State participation

2.6 State participation

Not applicable

There is no evidence of back-sliding since the previous Validation, in which Requirement 2.6 was assessed as “not applicable”.

4.2 In-kind revenues

Not applicable

There is no evidence of back-sliding since the previous Validation, in which Requirement 4.2 was assessed as “not applicable”.

4.5 SOE transactions

Not applicable

There is no evidence of back-sliding since the previous Validation, in which Requirement 4.5 was assessed as “not applicable”.

6.2 SOE quasi-fiscal expenditures

Not applicable

There is no evidence of back-sliding since the previous Validation, in which Requirement 6.2 was assessed as “not applicable”.

Production and exports

3.2 Production data

90

The UKEITI disclosures on its website and through its UKEITI annual reviews continue to provide access to comprehensive information on mining, quarrying, coal, oil and gas production and exports. This information is systematically disclosed on government websites.

3.3 Export data

90

The UKEITI disclosures on its website and through its UKEITI annual reviews continue to provide access to comprehensive information on mining, quarrying, coal, oil and gas production and exports. This information is systematically disclosed on government websites.

Revenue collection

4.1 Comprehensiveness

90

The 2021 EITI Report provides full comprehensive and reliable disclosures of company payments and government revenues

4.3 Infrastructure provisions and barter arrangements

Not applicable

There continues to be no barter-type arrangements in the UK.

4.4 Transportation revenues

Not applicable

There continues to be no transportation revenues in the UK.

4.7 Level of disaggregation

90

Disaggregated figures for company payments and government revenues from oil, gas and mining are published, disaggregated by government entity, revenue stream and company. The UK has defined the term 'project' in legislation, a definition that is consistent with that in Requirement 4.7. All of the material government revenues from the extractive industries that are levied on a per-project basis have been published disaggregated as such.

4.8 Data timeliness

100

The UK has fully met the objective of this requirement in producing 2019 UKEITI data within one year of the end of the calendar year covered and given the MSG’s approval of the reporting period.

4.9 Data quality and assurance

90

There is no evidence of back-sliding since the previous Validation, in which Requirement 4.9 was assessed as “satisfactory progress”.

Revenue management

5.1 Distribution of revenues

90

The UKEITI disclosures and respective government websites continue to provide comprehensive information on the management of extractive industry revenues and related expenditures. This information is systematically disclosed on government websites.

5.3 Revenue management and expenditures

Not assessed

There is no evidence of back-sliding since the previous Validation, in which Requirement 5.3 was marked as “not assessed”. The UK does not appear yet to have addressed all aspects of Requirement 5.3 through systematic disclosures by government entities and extractive companies.

Subnational contributions

4.6 Subnational payments

Not applicable

The UKEITI has demonstrated that there are no material direct subnational payments by the extractive industries in the UK.

5.2 Subnational transfers

90

The UKEITI disclosures and respective government websites continue to provide comprehensive information on subnational transfers of extractive revenues to Northern Ireland.

6.1 Social and environmental expenditures

90

The UK has fully met the objective of Requirement 6.1, given that the corrective action on mandatory social expenditures has been addressed and that the new requirements on environmental payments to government are not considered applicable given the MSG’s materiality decisions. The UKEITI has published companies' unilateral disclosures of mandatory social expenditures ('Section 106 payments'), with detailed information on the one reporting company's Section 106 payments including disaggregation by beneficiary, confirmation that the payment was made in cash and description of the purpose of each expenditure, published just after the commencement of Validation on the UKEITI website. he UKEITI has piloted aggregate disclosures of environmental taxes from the extractive industries in the 2020 UKEITI Annual Review (2019 data), although it has maintained its traditional material decisions (since the 2014 EITI Report) to exclude indirect taxes on the extractive industries (e.g., taxes on consumption rather than production) from the scope of UKEITI reconciliation. The UKEITI has not disclosed any voluntary social or environmental expenditures where applicable.


Key documents


Contacts