Oil Spill Contingency Planning and Reporting

• Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response & Co-operation Convention) Regulations 1998
• Offshore Installations (Emergency Pollution Control) Regulations 2002

These Regulations give the Government power to intervene in the event of an incident involving an offshore installation where there is or there may be a risk of significant pollution, or where an operator has failed to implement proper control and preventative measures. These Regulations apply to chemical and oil spills.

• Offshore Petroleum Activities (Oil Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2005

Under these Regulations, it is an offence to make an unlawful discharge of oil, i.e. a discharge of oil other than in accordance with the permit granted under these Regulations for oily discharges (e.g. produced water etc.). However, it will be a defence to prove that the contravention arose because of something that could not have been reasonably prevented, or that it was due to something done as a matter of urgency for the purposes of securing the safety of any person.

Proposed revision to the OPPC Regulations 2005 are currently out to consultation (see Pending Legislation).

• Merchant Shipping Act 1995
• International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC Convention).
• Merchant Shipping (Salvage and Pollution) Act 1994

The Merchant Shipping Act 1995 implements in the UK the OPRC Convention. The aim of the OPRC Convention is to increase the level of effective response to oil pollution incidents and to promote international co-operation to this end. The Convention applies to ships and offshore installations and requires operators to have in place Oil Pollution Emergency Plans (OPEP), which are approved by the body that is the National Competent Authority for the Convention. The Merchant Shipping (Salvage and Pollution) Regulations 1996 made the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) the UK National Competent Authority (but see below Consent - Who to Apply to - for application to offshore industry).

The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation Convention) Regulations 1998 introduce into UK law the oil spill planning requirements and legal oil spill reporting requirements of the OPRC Convention. 

• Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Oil Pollution) Regulations 1996 (POOP Regulations)
• The Merchant Shipping (Implementation of Ship-Source Pollution Directive) Regulations 2009

These Regulations implement EU Directive 2005/35/EEC in ship-source pollution and on the introduction of penalties for infringement, through amendment of the 1996 POOP Regulations and the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. The Regulations limit the defences available to the master or owner of a ship involved in an oil spill or chemical spill and extend liability for the discharge to others such as charterers and classification societies. This closed a loop hole in the existing legislation where some large spills were not open to prosecution under MARPOL.

• DECC Oil Pollution Emergency Plans Guidance Note
• DECC Guidance Note on Offshore Installations (Emergency Pollution Control) Regulations 2002

All new Oil Pollution Emergency Plans, or OPEPs (previously OSCPs) subject to a 5 yearly review, and any updates made to existing OPEPs must be written in accordance with these Guidance notes (see Snippets).

• Guidance on the Petroleum Operations Notice No 1 (PON 1) Oil Pollution
• Guidance on the Process for approving Oil Pollution Emergency Plans (OPEP)(MS Word)
• Guidance on a procedure adopted by DECC allowing operators to submit operations such as drilling in an appendix to an approved Offshore/Field Installation Plan.

• Draft Guidance Notes to Operators of UK Offshore Oil and Gas Installations (including pipelines) on Oil Pollution Emergency Plan Requirements (also see Pending Legislation)

• Draft Guidance Notes to Operators of UK Offshore Oil and Gas Installations on the Offshore Installations (Emergency Pollution Control) Regulations 2002 (also see Pending Legislation)

• Oil Spill Response Training Guidelines for the UK Offshore Oil Industry were updated in May 2007.

Requirement for and Approval of OPEP

(Note - OSCP has been renamed Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (OPEP) under new DECC guidance currently out to comment).

The International Convention on Oil Pollution, Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC), which has been ratified by the UK, requires the UK Government to ensure that operator’s have a formally approved Oil Pollution Emergency Plan in place for each offshore operation, or agreed grouping of facilities. Such approval must come from the appointed National Competent Authority. This is the MCA in the UK, but powers have been delegated to DECC EDU-OED Environmental Inspectorate for offshore oil and gas operations.

The Merchant Shipping Act 1995 allows the UK to implement the provisions of the OPRC Convention and because of this, the National Competent Authority was appointed under the Merchant Shipping (Salvage and Pollution) Regulations 1996.

The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response) Regulations 1998 have also been created under the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. These regulations implement into UK law the oil spill planning requirements of the OPRC Convention.

In addition to the requirements of The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response) Regulations 1998, there may be requirements for Oil Pollution Emergency planning through either block specific licence conditions or general requirements under licensing legislation as embodied in the Petroleum Production (Seawards Areas) Regulations 1988 and 1996. A specific licence may be required under conditions that require the preparation of an essential elements Oil Pollution Emergency Plan that relates to its proximity to environmentally sensitive areas. 

Under the requirements of the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response) Regulations 1998, all completed Oil Pollution Emergency Plans must be submitted to the National Competent Authority for approval.

In addition, Oil Pollution Emergency Plans required under the Block Licence must be formally approved to ensure that the specific requirements of the Block Licence, which are not included in the generic provisions of The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response) Regulations 1998, have been met.

A procedure has been adopted regarding drilling operations which now allows operators to submit these activities as an appendix of an approved Offshore Field/Installation plan, however, the appendix is still subject to the two month consultation and review period. Due to the requirement to provide additional information, not generally included within the Onshore Plan and Offshore Field/Installation Plan, e.g. location of and drilling contractors' representation within the Operations Control Unit (OCU). The appendix will always, where applicable, be approved under Emergency Pollution Control (EPC) legislation.

All offshore installations that were active before the Regulations came into force (i.e. before 15th May 1998) were required to have submitted an Oil Spill Contingency Plan on or before the 14th August 1999 for formal approval.

All new offshore installations (i.e. those on or after 15th May 1998) including exploration and appraisal wells are required to have submitted an Oil Spill Contingency Plan for formal approval at least 2 months before activities on the offshore installation commence. In some cases drilling may be covered by a platform OPEP.

Preparation of OPEPs

(Note - OSCP has been renamed Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (OPEP) under new DECC guidance currently out to comment).

Reference should be made to appropriate DECC guidance (see Guidance) on preparation of OPEPs. Guidance provides detailed requirements for response resources, risk assessment and oil spill modelling amongst others.

See Reporting Requirements

A decision on whether to report a spill as an oil spill or chemical spill can be made depending on whether the substance spilt has been permitted under the Offshore Chemical Regulations 2002 (e.g. drilling fluids), in which case it should be reported as a chemical spill, or not (e.g. reservoir hydrocarbons, lube oils, diesel etc.), in which case it should be reported as an oil spill.

In the event of an oil or chemical spill, regardless of size, the operator is required to report the spill in accordance with the Petroleum Operations Notice No. 1 (PON 1). (See Reporting Requirements). Guidance on the use and completion of the PON1 is available on DECC website.

In addition to the reporting of all oil spills, if the source of the oil spill is in doubt a sample of the oil/spilled material should be taken for analysis.

The PON1 is currently under revision as part of an ongoing consultation excercise on the Offshore Chemical Regulations 2002 and OPPC Regulations 2005. A copy of the proposed revised PON1 is available as part of the consultation package on the DECC Website.

Reporting of oil and chemical spills using the PON 1. Guidance on the use and completion of the PON1 is available on DECC website.

Accidental/Unplanned Discharges

All accidental/unplanned discharges to sea of oil (including crude oil, diesel oil, lubricating oil and hydraulic oil) or chemicals (including OBM), regardless of volume, must be reported by PON1. Any third party spills or spills of unknown source must also be reported.

Discharges Associated with Activities Permitted under the OPPC Regulations

If any permitted discharge meets the following, then a PON1 must be submitted (even if no breach of permit conditions has occurred). These PON1s will be classified as “OPPC Permitted Discharge Notifications”.

• > 1 tonne of oil to sea in any 12 hour period; and/or
• Oil discharges causes a sheen which appears more significant when compared with a sheen observed during normal operations and weather conditions and extends outwith the installation’s 500 m zone; and/or
• Causes a discharge of oil which has the potential to cause significant environmental impact or affect other users of the sea.

Any other discharge that exceeds permit conditions must be reported using an OPPC Permit Non-Compliance Notification Form (see Produced Water).

Note: “oils” regulated under the Offshore Chemical Regulations 2002 (e.g. OBMs, base oil, SBMs etc.) must be reported on the PON1 as a chemical spill.

Also see Snippets

Immediately notify Coastguard by telephone, then confirm spill by faxing completed pro forma that is Annex 1 in the PON 1;

Fax spill details (as detailed in Annex 1 of PON 1) to DECC (Oil and Gas, Aberdeen); telephone DECC with details of spill if it occurred in an environmentally sensitive area, or within 25 miles of the coast, or is greater than 25 tonnes.

Fax spill details (as required by Annex 1 in the PON 1) to JNCC; telephone JNCC with details of spill if it is (a) greater than 1 tonne and occurred in either an environmentally sensitive area or within 25 miles of the coast, or (b) is greater than 25 tonnes.

Other specific reporting requirements will be detailed in the relevant Oil Pollution Emergency Plan.

All measurements must be reported in the units requested on the form.

All spills must be notified as soon as possible.

The PON1 is utilised by relevant authorities as a pollution incident notification system and it is therefore imperative that, in addition to immediate telephone notification to the nearest Coastguard Station, early notification by PON1 Fax is given to provide effective response.  In this regard it is expected that under normal circumstances incidents be notified by Fax within 6 hours of an event being confirmed and/or identified.  Notification should not be delayed in order to close out actions or confirm full details of the incident.  Initial notification should occur with additional information being forwarded at a later time by updating the original PON1, if applicable.

Where the spill/discharge is, or seems as though it may become, extensive in size (e.g. a blow-out, a fractured pipe or a damaged storage facility) there should be the earliest possible consultation with the nearest Coastguard Station and DECC. 

In case of an on going spill a daily report PON 1 should be sent.

Non-compliance would constitute failure to report an oil spill / failure to report spill according to requirements of PON 1 / oil spill plan / failure to respond to the spill using procedures laid out in the plan. Non-compliance would also include failure to prepare an oil spill plan that meets legal requirements. In case of non-compliance with reporting DECC are likely to prosecute. In case of non-compliance with oil spill planning DECC will require a legal content / format oil spill plan to be prepared.

Oil spill reporting required for every oil spill that reaches the sea. For oil spill plans the following are the legal requirements for renewal:

• A full review of the plan no later than 5 years after its submission.
• Where major change occurs that could affect the validity or effectiveness of the plan then a new plan must be submitted, or amendments made to the plan, within 3 months of the change becoming known.
• Also see Snippets for new OPEP Guidance and implications to renewal/revision.

The Offshore Chemicals Regulations 2002 currently contain no powers to enable enforcement actions to be taken against operators of offshore installations for unintentional releases of chemicals (e.g. resulting from accidents). Although it may be possible to take action in relation to such activities under other statutory powers, the effect is that there is no single comprehensive regime for the regulation of chemical releases from offshore installations. The Department therefore proposes amending the Offshore Chemicals Regulations 2002 to make such discharges unlawful and liable to possible enforcement action. The key amendments would entail distinguishing between intentional discharges and other releases; and incorporating a new offence in relation to such other releases. At the same time, the Department proposes to make a number of changes to the Offshore Chemicals Regulations 2002 and the Offshore Petroleum Activities (Oil Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2005 to ensure that the two regulatory regimes are consistent.

The Consultation closes on 16 October 2009. Further information is available on the DECC Website.

MCA are consulting on the Draft Merchant Shipping (Implementation of Ship Source Pollution Directive) Regulations 2008.

These Regulations will implement in the UK the EC Directive on Ship Source Polution. The legislation is specifically targeted at ship-source polluting discharges which are committed with intent, recklessly or by serious negligence. UK legislation which is to be amended includes the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Oil Pollution) Regulations 1996 and Merchant Shipping (Dangerous or Noxious Liquid Substances in Bulk) Regulations 1996.

The Directive and these draft Regulations only apply to substances covered in MARPOL Annex I (oil) and Annex II (noxious liquid substances in bulk).

The Regulations are designed to amend and reduce the applicability of the pollution provisions in Section 131 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 and simulateously increase the applicability and enforcement of the pollution provisions in the Prevention of Oil Pollution Regulations (POOP Regulations) 1996.

Closing date for comments was the 21 November 2008.

Following consultation with industry, DECC has now issued final revised Guidance Notes under the

• Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation Convention) Regulations 1998
• The Offshore Installations (Emergency Pollution Control) Regulations 2002.

All new Oil Pollution Emergency Plans, or OPEPs (previously OSCPs) subject to a 5 yearly review, and any updates made to existing OPEPs must be written in accordance with these Guidance notes. 

New provisions and guidance associated with Training and Exercise requirements must be implemented with immediate effect on all installations holding an existing approved OPEP.

Operators holding an existing approved OPEP are not required to update and re-submit their existing OPEP to comply with new guidance until the existing approval period expires.  However, it is recognised that the updated Guidance provides scope to strengthen existing response arrangements and in this respect Operators are encouraged to review and submit their existing OPEP in line with the new Guidance before their existing approval period expires. 

The Environmental Liability Directive was adopted in 2004 and was required to be implemented by 30 April 2007.  The Directive enforces strict liability for prevention and remediation of environmental damage to ‘biodiversity’, water and land from specified activities and remediation of environmental damage for all other activities through fault or negligence. 

The Environmental Liability Directive is now implemented in England and Wales (see Environmental Liability). The Scottish Government has completed its 2nd consultation and regulations are pending.

Oil Spill Response Training Guidelines for the UK Offshore Oil Industry were updated in May 2007.

Approval of Oil Spill Dispersants

A consultation has recently taken place to ensure that the UK Oil Spill Treatment Products Approval Scheme continues to remain fit for purpose and to ensure that appropriate products whose use would be of environmental benefit are available to responders to maritime oil spill in UK waters.

Additional information on the approval of oil spill dispersants and those approved from list is available on the DEFRA website.