IIn line with UK Government targets, BERR(formerly DTI) are delivering most of their services digitally through the UK oil portal. BERR started issuing digitally signed chemical permits in January 2005 – see “DTI Goes Paperless” at http://www.gnn.gov.uk/environment/dti/. Decommissioning notices, all field and production consents are now all issued as digitally signed documents and the licences issued following the 2008 Licensing Round will also be digitally signed. The 2008 Produced Water returns were required to be digitally signed by the oil industry and it is planned that any electronic applications for the 2009 Licensing Round  (http://www.og.dti.gov.uk/consultations/e_licences.pdf) will require a digital signature.

BERR worked with BP, Exxon, Shell and Oil & Gas UK to deliver the digital signatures solution. The oil companies' interest was not only to enable them to satisfy regulatory requirements but also because they all had formative plans to move to Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) internally and were looking for a stimulus to externalise their plans.

In the course of the work BERR ran an industry consultation. The responses to this were all positive. The themes that emerged in the responses were that any solution must be low cost, easy to use, not UK centric and based on standards.

Following the consultation BERR ran a series of pilots with a number of companies and produced a set of Trust Rules that defined a set of standards for the issue and use of digital certificates for use in regulatory work in the UK. The view was that these Trust Rules, which were based upon emerging international standards, would have wider applicability in the global oil industry. 

The bulk of BERR's contact with the oil industry is through operators and to ensure that the Trust Rules reach a wider audience the management of the Trust Rules was moved to Oil & Gas UK. Furthermore it was necessary to extend the number of companies either consulted or collaborating in the work and an OGTS working Group has been formed.