Currently, the OGA is set up as an executive agency of the government's Department of Energy and Climate Change. However, with the implementation of the Energy Bill in mid-2016, the OGA will become fully independent. The Energy Bill will also transfer the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change's existing regulatory powers on oil and gas to the newly independent OGA, while also expanding the regulator's powers to include access to company meetings, data acquisition, retention and transfer, dispute resolution and sanctions.
The new general counsel for the OGA will assume responsibility for all of the regulator's legal advice, including mediation and arbitration work, as well as guidance on public, commercial and competition law. Reporting to the director of licensing and legal, the new general counsel will also fulfill the role of company secretary. While the OGA has not announced any current plans to recruit more in-house lawyers, the new GC will be charged with creating and managing a panel of external advising firms. Current Department of Energy and Climate Change adviser Bird & Bird could be a frontrunner for the new panel, according to The Lawyer Market Intelligence.
Applications for the post are open until 4 November, with the OGA expecting to have filled the role by mid-December. Source: The Lawyer
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