Environmental Alert Notices
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy OPRED regularly issues environmental alert notices in order to raise awareness of any environmental issues on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf UKCS so companies can respond appropriately. They are issued directly to Oil and Gas operators and published online. View the latest Environmental Alert Notices. Reporting incidents to OPRED
Integrated Reporting Service IRS
IRS is a service hosted within the United Kingdom Energy Portal. IRS is used to report the following to the Department
You may find it useful to consult OPREDs offshore environmental legislation page for information on environmental regulations and guidance on offshore oil and gas exploration and production, offshore gas unloading and storage and offshore carbon dioxide storage activities. To access the IRS users must first register for an Energy Portal Login Account httpsitportal.energysecurity.gov.ukengfoxbeisDESNZ_LOGINlogin. Thereafter to access the IRS users must be given the appropriate permissions by their organisations IRS administrator. Access to IRS is through the same link httpsitportal.energysecurity.gov.ukengfoxbeisDESNZ_LOGINlogin. IRS has been designed to allow any installation operating in the UKCS, be that a fixed installation, mobile drilling unit, diving support vessel, flotel etc which may require to make a notification through IRS. If you require an IRS installation account to be set up contact OPREDenergysecurity.gov.uk
In the event there are any issues relating to the functionality of IRS contact ukopnstauthority.co.uk or 0300 067 1682. If IRS is unavailable incidents should be notified using the following pro-formas
IRS Data
Details of incidents reported to OPRED can be found using this link. PON 1
Reporting oil and chemical releases and permitted discharge notifications from offshore installations and pipelines
A Petroleum Operations Notice 1 PON1 is the notice used to report all releases to sea of oil and offshore chemicals that occur during offshore oil and gas activities. The Offshore Petroleum Activities Oil Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations 2005 OPPC and the Offshore Chemical Regulations 2002 OCR include provisions which require the permit holder or, if there is no permit holder, the operator to provide details of the following
OPPC and OCR also require that a person who releases oil or offshore chemicals must provide the Secretary of State with such information as they may reasonably require for the purpose of performing their functions under the Regulations. In addition to the requirements of the Regulations, the terms and conditions attached to OPPC and OCR permits require that the permit holders must report all releases of oil andor offshore chemicals to the Department by means of a PON1 notification. In compliance with international agreements, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has issued instructions to captains of all service and civilian ships and aircraft to report immediately the following matters
Petroleum Operations Notice No.1 PON 1 is the form operators and permit holders are directed to use to satisfy the above reporting obligations. PON 1 Data
The following spreadsheet presents historical data about oil and chemical releases. Readers should be aware that HSE and OPRED publish Hydrocarbon Release data on their website in accordance with regulatory reporting requirements. HSE and OPRED have different regulatory responsibilities and this is reflected in the incident reports received. Most notably PON1 does not record gaseous releases. This data is available below. Hydrocarbon Release data submitted to HSE is primarily concerned with gaseous and flammable liquid releases capable of causing serious injury or fatality or a major accident. Where required to be reported it is the total quantity released that is reported regardless of whether the hydrocarbon enters the sea. As a result of the above reporting requirements there may be incidents that are reported independently to HSE or OPRED or on some occasions to both, depending on circumstances.
Quantities reported may also vary as OPRED is only notified of quantities spilled to sea whereas HSE may be notified of incidents with the potential to cause pollution. Please direct any queries to OPREDenergysecurity.gov.uk
Submitting a PON1
The PON1 must be submitted via IRS in accordance with the IRS Guidance document. Where access to IRS is unavailable the PON1 reporting form, available above, must be submitted in accordance with the information detailed in the PON1 guidance document. PON 2
Loss or dumping of materials at sea from offshore oil and gas installations
Materials lost or dumped at sea can constitute a significant hazard to other sea users and the marine environment. A PON2 must be submitted to report material lost or dumped to sea that has the potential to pose a threat to navigation or the safety of users of the sea. Note this excludes material that is deposited in accordance with an approved ConsentMarine Licence etc. Offshore Wind Operations To notify any objects dropped lost to sea during offshore wind operations please contact Marine Scotland for Scottish waters and the Marine Management Organisation MMO for English inshoreoffshore waters and Northern Ireland offshore waters.
A PON2 should not be submitted to OPRED for such incidents. The following information is provided to assist with PON2 reporting
Submitting the PON 2 form
The PON2 must be submitted via IRS in accordance with the IRS Guidance document. Where access to IRS is unavailable the PON2 reporting form, available below, must be submitted to OPRED, the Marine Coastguard Authority, Kingfisher at Seafish, the Scottish Fishermens Federation andor the National Federation of Fishermens Organisations as soon as possible and no later than 6 hours after the event takes place. If all the information is not available within 6 hours, the PON 2 form can be updated at a later time. PON10
A PON10 is used to report a non-compliance with the conditions of a Consent to Locate or any other breach of the applicable Energy Act Part 4A Regulations. You must submit a PON10
The PON10 must be submitted via IRS in accordance with the IRS Guidance document. Where access to IRS is unavailable the PON10 form, available below, must be sent to OPRED and the UK Hydrographic Office. Reports should also be copied to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency MCA, Kingfisher at Seafish and the relevant General Lighthouse Authority and fishermens representative body. Anonymously reporting environmental concerns relating to offshore oil and gas operations
If you have a concern about an environmental pollution incidentbreach of offshore regulations you can report it online to OPRED. This section of the GOV.UK website, provides a mechanism for those aware of an environmental offshore incident, such as the release or unpermitted discharge of oil or chemicals to sea, to report this information anonymously. You will not be required to provide any personal details should you wish to remain anonymous. However, in these circumstances the Department will be unable to update you with its response to the information you provided. Should you wish to receive an update, we require you to leave sufficient personal details and advise us of your preferred method of communication. Where you provide your personal details the Department will strive to protect your confidentiality, however it cannot guarantee your anonymity. Before you start
There has to be a good reason for investigating environmental concerns relating to offshore oil and gas operations so youll need to provide as much of the following information as possible including
The information you provide is strictly confidential. You dont have to give your name unless you want to. To submit a report please access the form here Anonymous Reporting form - on Portal
What happens after you have submitted a report
OPRED Offshore Environmental Investigation Team will review the information you have reported. If youve given enough information theyll investigate the incident. The Investigation Team may not always be able to tell you the outcome and sometimes no action is taken.
OPRED Offshore Environmental Inspectorate will take action if they find there is evidence of an incident that results in pollution or a contravention of the regulations. The enforcement options available are detailed in the Departments Enforcement policy which can be accessed here at Oil and Gas OPRED Public Registers of Enforcement Activity - OPRED Offshore Enforcement Policy