The need for measures to address pollution from offshore oil and gas activities has been considered by the General Assembly of the United Nations and, for several years, has been discussed actively within both the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) and the International Maritime Organization. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) creates both an obligation and provides a structure for such measures, which are being pursued by several United Nations organisations. The United Nations CSD has considered the matter and has concluded that “there is no compelling need at this time to further develop globally applicable environmental regulations in respect of the exploitation and exploration aspects of offshore oil and gas activities.” Nonetheless, views are divided. Those in favour of international regulations or guidelines have argued that there are many oil- producing regions that do not have the capacity to develop either national or regional standards and that some kind of international regulations or guidelines would help them. Those who have argued against global measures contend that offshore oil and gas activities only pose a threat of local pollution, which can be dealt with through national regulations or regional agreements. The industry itself has developed only a modest number of high-level standards. The implementation of meaningful environmental management systems by the oil companies, coupled with changes to well design and overall operational procedures, may offer a means of reducing adverse environmental impacts whilst avoiding prescriptive regulations.
The United Nations and a Structure for Environmental Regulation of Offshore Activities
The United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process was established by the General Assembly (1) to facilitate the annual review by the assembly of developments in ocean affairs. It held its third meeting on 8–15 April 2002. The report of this meeting (2) makes the following recommendations with respect to offshore oil and gas activities.
- The General Assembly should recommend that regional seas conventions and action plans in regions where offshore oil and gas industries are developing or are in prospect, and where installations do not exist, should develop programmes and/or measures to prevent, reduce and control pollution from offshore installations.
- The General Assembly should invite regional seas conventions and action plans that have developed such programmes and measures to make their information and experience available for this process.
- The General Assembly should invite International Maritime Organization (IMO), United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to undertake an initiative, involving the relevant regional organisations as well as the oil and gas industry, to develop guidance on the best environmental practices to prevent and control pollution from accidents on offshore installations and to mitigate their effects.
The UNCLOS, which entered into force on 16 November 1994, is a widely accepted treaty, having been accepted by 138 nations (states party) as of 1 October 2002. The convention provides an overall framework for environmental governance of offshore and, to some extent, onshore oil and gas exploration and production operations. The implementation and enforcement principles of UNCLOS can be summarised as follows.
- States party must adopt laws and regulations onpollution from land-based sources and through the atmosphere, taking into account international provisions, and enforce these laws and regulations (Articles 207(1), 212(1), 213 and 222).
- With respect to seabed activities subject to national jurisdiction, states party must adopt and enforce national laws and regulations to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment arising from, or in connection with, seabed activities subject to their jurisdiction and from artificial islands, installations and structures, which must be no less effective than international rules, standards and recommended practices and procedures. States are also required to endeavour to harmonise their policies at the appropriate regional level (Articles 208 and 214).
- States shall adopt laws and regulations and take other measures on pollution from seabed activities and from dumping, which shall be no less effective than international (in the case of dumping, global) rules and standards (Articles 139, 208, 209, 210 and 214).
- Coastal states are required to adopt and enforce national laws and regulations to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment from artificial islands, installations and structures under their jurisdiction. Furthermore, states must adopt measures to minimise, to the fullest possible extent, pollution from installations and devices used in the exploration or exploitation of the natural resources of the seabed and subsoil (Articles 194, 208 and 210).
- States should co-operate in establishing contingency plans against pollution (Article 199).
- States shall enforce this legislation within their jurisdiction (including vessels flying their flag and aircraft of their registry) and ensure that their nationals, and bodies controlled by such nationals, comply with the requirements applicable in the areas of the seabed that are beyond national jurisdiction, known as ‘the area’ (Articles 139, 208, 209, 210 and 214).
- States must adopt laws and regulations on pollution from vessels that are entitled to fly their flag (flag states) that are at least as effective as generally accepted international rules and standards (Articles 139, 208, 209, 210 and 214). Industry trade organisations have also developed a framework of standards, recommended practices and other guidelines for environmental protection. The principal such organisations for the oil and gas industries are the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (OGP), the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) and the American Petroleum Institute (API). These organisations represent their membership before government and governmental organisations. (3) The Society of Petroleum Engineers sponsors a semi- annual environmental conference and a number of regional conferences with environmental ‘best practice’ as their focus.
It is noteworthy that Articles 208, 209 and 211 of UNCLOS do not differentiate between international standards, recommended practices and procedures developed by intergovernmental bodies such as the IMO and those developed by the industry organisations producing internationally recognised standards such as the ISO, OGP, IADC and API.
Category:
Environment
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