Land-based Sources
A structure and action plan for addressing land- based sources of pollution was developed by the 1995 Washington Global Program of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land- based Activities. This structure was reviewed at a subsequent meeting held in November 2001 in Montreal and is addressed in the Plan of Implementation (Paragraph 32) developed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, in September 2002. The structure is reinforced by a variety of regional agreements. In the face of many other environmental issues of greater priority, little attention has been directed at the international level towards land-based oil and gas exploration and production operations. Industry-specific guidelines have been published by API. (4)
Offshore Activities in Areas Subject to National Jurisdiction
Under UNCLOS, exploitation of seabed mineral resources is subject to the exclusive control of the adjacent coastal state out to the limit of its exclusive economic zone or the limit of its continental shelf if the continental shelf extends beyond 200 miles. In 1996, the United Nations CSD concluded that “there is no compelling need at this time to further develop globally applicable environmental regulations in respect of the exploitation andexploration aspects of offshore oil and gas activities." (5) Further, it was concluded that “the primary focus of action on the environmental aspects of offshore oil and gas operations continues to be at the national, sub-regional and regional levels,” and noted that, in support of such action, there was a need to “share information on the development and application of satisfactory environmental management systems." (6)
Thirteen ‘regional seas’ programmes (7) have been established under the auspices of UNEP, involving more than 140 nations. Two other regional programmes are based on free-standing conventions: The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR Convention) and the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea (Helsinki Convention). In addition, a high-level intergovernmental forum, the Arctic Council, has been established to address the mutual concerns faced by the Arctic governments and indigenous populations.
While no global measures have been adopted regulating the discharges directly arising from the exploration, exploitation and associated offshore processing of oil and gas, harmonised regulations with respect to the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas have been developed as part of the Baltic, Mediterranean, north-east Atlantic and Kuwait regional programmes and under the Arctic Council. The matter has been considered by other regional programmes; however, in general, they have decided that other issues should be given higher priority.
OGP has issued industry-specific guidelines for operations in tropical rainforests, onshore areas in arctic and sub-arctic areas, arctic offshore regions, mangrove areas and ‘sensitive’ environments. (8)
The regional programmes also offer a means for intergovernmental exchanges on regulatory practice and experiences, including exchange of information on best environmental practice. The UNEP maintains a website (9) to facilitate the exchange of such information as it relates to offshore oil and gas exploration and production.
Activities in the Area
Under Article 209 of UNCLOS, the development of seabed mineral resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction (i.e. ‘the area’) is subject to control by the International Seabed Authority (ISBA). The ISBA has directed its efforts towards developing regulations for prospecting and exploration for polymetallic nodules, since this is the limit of current commercial interest. However, the ISBA has noted the potential for hydrocarbon and gas hydrates in areas where there is a potential claim for a continental shelf extending beyond 200 nautical miles, including the Atlantic seaboard of North and South America (including the Labrador Sea) and the Alaskan Arctic seaboard. (10) The authority acknowledges that development potential for these resources is currently marginal, but notes that technological improvements in recovery efficiency and greater access to deepwater areas are increasing the range of economically recoverable resources.
At-sea Disposal (Dumping)
The dumping of wastes at sea is governed by the 1972 London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter. Seventy-eight nations have ratified or acceded to the London Convention. This agreement has been revised and amended by its 1996 protocol (16 nations have ratified or acceded to the 1996 protocol). The protocol has not yet entered into force; however, it has been reported that it may enter into force as early as 2003. (11)
The protocol introduces a wider definition of dumping than that contained in UNCLOS. It includes within the definition the expressions, “any storage of wastes or other matter in the seabed and the subsoil thereof from vessels, aircraft, platforms or other man-made structures at sea” and “any abandonment or toppling at site of platforms or other man-made structures at sea, for the sole purpose of deliberate disposal.”
The London Convention and protocol exempt the disposal into the sea of “wastes or other matter incidental to, or derived from the normal operations of vessels, aircraft, platforms or other man-made structures at sea; the placement of matterfor the purpose other than the mere disposal thereof, and the disposal or storage of wastes or other matter directly arising from, or related to the exploration, exploitation and associated offshore processing of seabed mineral resources.” This exemption leaves considerable opportunity for divergence of interpretation with regard to what constitutes ‘normal operations’ of offshore oil and gas drilling and production facilities, which some find troublesome.
Table 1: Average Annual Input (1990–1999) of Petroleum to Marine
Waters by Source (Kilotonnes)
Source: “Oil in the Sea III: Inputs, Fates, and Effects”, Committee on Oil in the Sea:
Inputs, Fates, and Effects, National Research Council, National Academies Press, 2002.
The Netherlands has recently proposed that consideration be given to expanding the London Convention to explicitly include a wide variety of issues associated with offshore oil and gas activities, (12) specifically:
- seabed activities;
- sub-seabed activities;
- offshore platforms (discharges, removal and disposal); and
- matters related to past dumping activities (recovery of wastes dumped in other marine engineering activities (e.g. OTEC, artificial islands). A number of technical reports and guidance documents have been produced by OGP on the issue of decommissioning offshore oil and gas installations (13).
Category:
Environment
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