Decommissioning and abandonment

Decommissioning and abandonment

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LEGISLATION

CONVENTIONSONOFFSHORESTRUCTURESANDPIPELINES

CONVENTIONS ON OFFSHORE STRUCTURES AND PIPELINES ƒ International ƒ Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf 1958 ƒ London Dumping Convention 1972 ƒ UN Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982 ƒ International Maritime Organisation Guidelines 1989 ƒ IMO is part of UN – sets MARPOL, SOLAS and ISPS standards ƒ European ƒ Oslo Convention 1972 ƒ Oslo Commission Guidelines 1991 ƒ OSPAR (Oslo-Paris) Convention 1992 and 1998 ƒ USA ƒ Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) ƒ Bureau of Safety and Environment Enforcement (BSEE) There is a plethora of conventions relating in some way to the removal of installations from the seabed. Most of them have been aimed at shaping what should happen to structures and platforms when decommissioned. By comparison, pipelines have received far less attention. In Europe (the European Union and signatory countries, together with Norway, Iceland and Switzerland), the OSPAR convention holds. The International Maritime Organisation is part of the United Nations and is headquartered in London. IMO sets international maritime standards, such as MARPOL (prevention of marine pollution), SOLAS (safety of life at sea) and ISPS (international ship and port security). These standards are not law but are binding for signatories, which includes all the major trading nations as well as many minor ones. The United States of America is not a signatory to OSPAR. The former MMS legislation – which has similar aims – is applicable under the auspices of the US Department of the Interior. BOEM, BSEE together with the US Department of Transportation (DOT) Research and Special Programs Administration Office of Pipeline Safety (RSPA/OPS) have jurisdiction in US waters.

OTHERNATIONALREGULATIONS