COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 18.02.1998 
COM(1998) 49 final 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 
on 
Removal and Disposal of 
Disused Offshore Oil and Gas Installations 

Introduction 
In Junc 1995, Ibllowing receipt of a permit from the UK Government Shell decided to 
dispose of the Brent Spar, a redundant oil storage buoy, by sinking it a deep water site 
in the North Atlantic. This reopened an extensive debate on the whole question of the 
disposal of redundant oil and gas installations in European waters, of which there are 
approximately 600. The decision coincided with the North Sea Conference and in the 
subsequent Ministerial Declaration a majority of the Ministers present, including the 
Commissioner, but excluding the UX and Norwegian Ministers who represent the 
only two states with a significant number of large installations which under existing 
guidelines can be considered for sea disposal, effectively called for a complete ban on 
disposal at sea of all such installations, in order to protect the marine environment. 
The Urcnt Spar 'affair' generated considerable public interest and dcmonstrated the 
diflicuities of implcmcnling a disposal policy which does not have sufficiently broad 
support. Eventually, in the face of a concerted campaign, which included a consumer 
boycott of Shell products in several Member States Shell reversed its decision and the 
Brent Spar was towed to a Norwegian fjord pending a further review of all the options 
for disposal. Following this detailed review in January 1998 Shell announced that they 
were now seeking approval from the UK to scrap the topsides onshore and dismantle 
and reuse the hull as part of a quay extension in Norway. Since then the issue has been 
extensively debated within OSPAR and the discussion on disposal of such 
installations continues and a Decision on the Prevention, Reduction and Control of 
Pollution from the Disposal of Disused Offshore Installations under the Convention 
for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic (1992 
OSPAR' Convention) is scheduled for adoption by a Ministerial Meeting of the 
Convention to be hekl in Portugal in July 1998. Major differences still exist but there 
is a general agrcemcnl that the consultation process, the failings of which were a 
factor in the Brent Spar affair, needs improvement and that concrete installations need 
to be dealt with separately. These and other key issuss are currently being discussed in 
detai!. 
1. Background 
1.1. At the June 1995 North Sea Conference the Commission took the position that 
the prsferred disposal method for offshore oil and gas installations was to reuse or to 
bring them to shore for recycling and for disposal of unavoidable wastes. 
1 In this Communication, references to OSPAR are references to the Convention for the 
Prevention of Marine Poliution by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft ('Oslo Convention'), 
signed in Oslo on 15 February 1972 and, when it enters into force, to its successor, the 
Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic, signed in 
Paris on 9 September 1992, as well as to the executive Commissions set up under these 
Conventions. 
The Commission therefore signed the Ministerial Declaration calling for such 
disposal, inviting the contracting parties to the Oslo and Paris Convention for the 
Protcction of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic (which includes the 
North Sea in the Convention Area) ('OSPAR') to implement this by 1997. The UK 
and Norway dissented whilst France declared that it understood the Declaration as 
applying to sleel structures. 
1.2. At the subsequent OSPAR Commission Meeting a decision was adopted on a 
majority basis establishing a moratorium on disposal at sea pending the adoption of a 
new Decision on disposal. The UK and Norway opted out of this Decision whilst 
France maintained its position taken at the North Sea Conference. This Decision is 
now under discussion in OSPAR with strenuous efforts being directed at arriving at a 
unanimous position. 
1.3. The Commission Services commissioned a joint study by a reputable offshore 
engineering company into the technical, environmental and economic aspects of 
removal and disposal of such installations. This study was completed in November 
1996 and the report2 was distributed to and discussed with Member States and EEA 
Members, environmental non governmental organisations and industry. It was also 
distributed to the Contracting Parties of OSPAR to assist in their discussions. 
1.4. The main impetus for the study came from the 'Brent Spar' incident and the 
North Sea Conference Ministerial Declaration in June 1995. Clearly this was an issue 
with implications for the Community and with no agreement between the states 
involved it was considered advisable to have a Ihorough technical review prepared in 
order to assist the Commission, and other interested parties - for the study has been 
made widely available - to assess the best course of action on the basis of a thorough 
knowledge of the issues in question. 
1.5. The study arrived at two main sets of conclusions. For the large concrete 
installations complete removal is technically unproven, unlikely to provide 
environmental benefit and impossible to put a cost on at this stage. For the remainder 
(i.e. steel structures) except for a limited number of installations, complete removal is 
technically feasible and economically balanced when the total cost of removing all the 
installations is considered as a whole and could be safely undertaken. 
1.6. For all disposal options, the environmental impact of residues of toxic or 
hazardous substances on the environment can be reduced to acceptable levels 
provided that these are contained, removed and disposed of carefully. Complete 
removal and disposal on land would ensure that the steel could be recycled. It is 
furlhermore self-cvidcnt that dcpcnding on the removal and disposal options chosen, 
thcrc could bc subslanlial amounts ofdemolition wastc and debris left on the seabed 
at the site of the installation and at a possible disposal site. 
2 A Technical Review of the possible Methods of Decommissioning and Disposing of Offshore 
Oil and Gas installations - John Brown bv 
1.7. The overall extra costs imposed by bringing all steel platforms to shore for 
recycling rather than implementing only the bare minimum 'required' by the 
International Maritime Organisation ('IMO') Regulations were estimated at up to 2 
BECU over 25 years, or on the average up to about 80 MECU/year. The impact of 
such a decision on the overall production costs of oil and gas would be negligible 
although thc cost diffcrcntial for ccrtain individual installations could be substantial 
for the operator concerned. (see also section 4.3) 
1.8. In European waters there are currently approximately 600 installations. Precise 
figures are difflcult to give because of the range of definitions of what constitutes a 
particular installation - for example where two platforms are connected by a fixed 
bridge and some installations are on the boundaries of the weight and water depth 
limits. However it is generally agreed that of the 600 there are about 100 large steel 
installations and about 20 large concrete installations which fall into the category 
where at present partial removal is permitted under the guidelines established by the 
IMO to ensure the safety of navigation. These guidelines cover only removal, they do 
not deal vvith any questions concerning disposal. The large steel installations are 
located mainly in UK (about 60) and Norwegian (about 30) waters. Currently a few 
(about 10 in total) are located in Irish, Italian and Spanish waters. As new discoveries 
are made the numbers may of course increase. The 100 steel installations represent 
about 85% of the total mass of steel in the North Sea off-shore installations. Large 
concrete installations are currently only present in UK and Norwegian waters. 
2. International Legislation 
2.1. There is a considerable body of International Law (Regional and Global 
Conventions and Guidelines), EC and domestic legislation covering the removal and 
disposal of disused olTshore oil and gas installations. The main texts are as follows : 
Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf 1958 (global) 
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 ('UNCLOS') 
London (Dumping) Convention 1972 (4LC) (global) 
International Maritime Organisation Guidelines and Standards for the 
Removai of Offshore Installations and Structures on the Continental Shelf 
1989 (TMO') (global) 
Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous 
Wastes and their Disposal 1989 (global) 
Oslo and Paris Convention ('OSPAR') 1992 and its predecessors the Oslo 
Convention 1972 and the Paris Convention 1974 (regional) 
Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment in the 
Baltic Area 1992 (regional) 
Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against 
Pollution 1976 (regional) 
See Section 5 for relevant EC legislation 
2.2. As the industry expands its uctivitics aiul environmental issues receive more 
atlcntion Ihc rulcs auil rcgulations develop uml (here is not a common legal position as 
such. In sonie cases the queslion of removal is dealt with separately from disposal, 
others which deal wilh disposal must by implication also cover removal. It should be 
noted that as a gencral rule these internalional and regional conventions and 
guidelines deal only with minimum standards and individual states may impose more 
stringent conditions. 
2.3. The original Geneva Convention called for complete removal, but UNCLOS 
(which has not yet been ratified by all signatories) maintained the requirement of 
removal as the main rule, but introduced the possibility of partial removal and hence 
effectively some disposal at sea. In connection with partial removal, UNCLOS 
requires that guidelines established by the IMO to ensure the safety of navigation be 
taken into account. 
2.4. The LC covers disposal by dumping in the sea, and allows for oil installations 
to be considered for disposal of in the sea on the basis of a case by case evaluation. It 
also rcquires a pcrmil to dump to be refused if opportunities exist to re-use, recycle or 
treat the waste without undue risks to human health or the environment or 
disproportionate costs. 
2.5. The IMO Guidelines define mainly technical criteria (water depth and weight 
criteria) for platforms which may be considered for only partial removal and specifies 
the necessary water clearance after partial removal to ensure the safety of navigation. 
The key criteria for such consideration is that the installations must be either in more 
than 75m of water or must weigh more than 4 000 tonnes. A recommendation to the 
London Convention's Scientific Group that these guidelines should be reviewed will 
be considered by the Consultative Committee of Contracting Parties in November. 
2.6. The Basel Convention deals with transboundary movements of hazardous 
waste and their disposal. The Community is a Party to it and so are the Member 
States. Although this Convention does not contain any specific provisions on the 
disposal of offshore installations nor on disposal of waste at sea, it does require 
Parties to ensure that the generation of hazardous waste is reduced to a minimum and 
that where the generation of hazardous wastc cannot be avoided its environmentally 
sound management is guaranteed. 
2.7. A series of regional seas Conventions dealing with maritime environmental 
protection lay down requirements for installations in particular seas. The European 
Community is a party to the Helsinki Convention, which covers the Baltic and 
requires complete removal and disposal on land, and to the Barcelona Convention 
which covers the Mediterranean sea and reiterates the requirements in UNCLOS. 
Finally the European Community is a signatory and about to become party to the 
OSPAR Convention. 
2.8. Action at regional seas Convention level can lead to different standards 
between regions. For example the OSPAR Convention (12 EC Member States, 2 EEA 
Member States, 1 third country and the European Community) is currently debating 
the subject. The Heisinki Convention (4 EC Member States, 5 third countries, and the 
European Community) has already decided that all disused installations must be 
'entirely removed and brought ashore'. 
2.9. OSPAR. merges the Paris Convention which covers land-based pollution 
where the Community is a signatory and the Commission negotiates and votes on 
behalf of the Community, and the Oslo Convention covering sea-based pollution, 
whcrc the Community is an observer. In Octobcr 19973 the-Community decided to 
ratil'y the Convention and it is now cxpected to enter into force in early 1998. 
2.10. Individual states also have their ovvn domestic legislation and regulation. 
Broadiy spcaking the UK and Norway treat each installation on a case by case basis 
within the confines of the IMO guidelines, the remaining states have policies 
requiring disposal to be on land, although it is worth mentioning that under the IMO 
and Oslo Convention guidelines practically all their installations would have to be 
completely removed in any case. 
3. Current Activities 
3.1. It is within OSPAR that the recent discussions have taken place - as a result of 
the Ministerial Declaration of the North Sea Conference calling for an OSPAR 
decision to implement the Declaration. The issue is difficult to resolve as Contracting 
Partics to the OSPAR Convention can choose to opt out of Decisions taken under it. 
Thereibre consensus is a prerequisite for a meaningful Decision. 
3.2. The Commission Services have been participating in the preparatory 
discussions under the OSPAR umbrella, and a draft decision should be finaliscd for 
the discussion at the OSPAR Ministerial Conference in July 1998. A preliminary draft 
decision has been prepared but the key questions are still unresolved. The significant 
areas of disagreement are as follows, and are to a certain extent interdependent: 
The structure of the Decision - While the UK and Norway favour a general 
authorisation of consideration of sea disposal combined with a list of categories of 
installations for which such disposal is prohibited (prohibition list), the other 
Contracting Parties favour a Decision based on a general prohibition of dumping with 
a list of installations which may nevertheless be considered for sea disposal (reyerse 
list). However, recent UK Ministerial statements suggest that the UK will eventually 
accept the reverse list approach, if sufficient progress can be made on other areas of 
the draft currently being discussed. 
3 Ref. to OJ 
10 
The question of an exception clause - The UK and Norway have proposed that their 
'prohibition lisf approach be complemenled by an exception clause which would 
permit in certain circumstanccs the installations on the prohibition list lo also be 
considered for sea disposal. They have also proposed that should the 'reverse list' 
approach be adopted it too should be complemented by an exception clause which 
would permit those installations nol identified on the reverse list to be considered for 
sea disposal. The other Contracting Parties appear to question the real need for such 
an exception clause, particularly under the prohibition list approach and the possible 
criteria for establishing such exceptions are in any case not agreed. 
The definition of the technical characteristics of the categories of (large steel) 
installations for which the decision would allow consideration of sea disposal. The 
UK and Norway wish to ensure that all installations which are not required to be 
complctely removed under the IMO guideline may be considered for disposal at sea. 
The other Contracting Parties appear to wish to prchibit disposal of steel installations 
or restrict the number which may be considered for sea disposal by introducing 
strictcr technical criteria than the IMO removal Guidelines. 
Future installations - The IMO guidelines distinguish between existing installations 
and those made after 1 January 1998 only to the extent that the water depth criteria is 
increased from 75m to 100m and that these new installations must be designed in such 
a way that they are capable of being removed. The UK and Norway appear to wish to 
replicate this treatment in the OSPAR Decision whereas the remaining Contracting 
Partics appear to be seeking to ensure that these future installations are all disposed of 
on land. Given the requirement to design new installations as removable, which has in 
any case been required by some states for many years, it would appear preferable if 
the Decision were to make land disposal mandatory for all new installations. 
Howcver, given the timescale of developing, exploiting and exhausting reservoirs any 
new installations are unlikely to be candidates for decommissioning for many years. 
Consultation - There is broad agreement that any proposed permit for disposal at sea 
should be the subject of consultation. Howevcr, the amount of time permitted for 
consultation, and in particular the possibility for consultative meetings of the 
Contracting Parties and both industry and environment NGOs, in all cases where sea 
disposal is being proposed, as well as the amount of information made available to the 
Contracting Parties being consulted is not yet agreed. The UK and Norway appear to 
have been in favour of less extensive consultation than the other Contracting Parties, 
but it now seems likely that unanimous agreement on the form of consultation may be 
reached. 
The criteria for installations that may be considered for disposal at sea are significant 
because the discussions are moving towards a position whereby some installations 
would always be required to go to land, and some could be considered for sea disposal 
on a case by case basis. How many of these 'IMO' large steel installations should be 
considered on a case by case basis is fundamental to the decision. Possible solutions 
to the impasse could include retaining the IMO criteria, setting new ones, or side-
stepping the issue by prohibiting sea disposal of all installations and concentrating on 
the exception clause. 
11 
3.3. The Commission Services havc continuaily stressed that to be effective any 
OSPAR Decision has to be supported by all the Contracting Parties and to that end 
have altcmpled lo a uertain exlent to mediate betvveen the two groups of inlerest, 
mindliil ol'lhc posilion adoptcd by the Commission at the 1995 North Sea Conlcrcnce 
and lhc Hndings oflhc Conimission Services" Technical Review. 
3.4. in May 1997 the UK Government launched a review of UK policy regarding 
environmental protection and exploration ancl production of hydrocarbons offshore 
and initial statements to the press and to the OSPAR Commission meeting in 
September 1997 suggest that the UK are moving more towards the position taken by 
the other EC Member States; in particular that there should be a presumption against 
disposal at sea. However, there are still major areas of disagreement over the form and 
content of the draft decision. 
3.5. The Decision is expected to be agreed at the OSPAR Ministerial Meeting in 
July 1998. By that time the OSPAR Convention should have entered into force. In the 
event that the new Convention is not ratified, adoption of a Decision would formally 
be by the Oslo Convention where the European Community is an observer. 
4. Additional issues to be considered when assessing options 
In addition to the lcchnical and cnvironmental issues outlined above the following 
points are also highly relevant -
4.1. Member States 
4.1.1. Removal and disposal costs are met initially by the owners of the installations, 
the oil companies, which in some instances have an element of state participation. 
Because such expenditure is to a large extent tax- deductible, Member States may 
themselves have to fund indirectly a part of the costs via reduced tax revenues. For 
exarnple, the estimated cost to the UK, which is the Member State which could be 
most substantially affected by any tightening up of existing rules, is up to 70% of any 
additional removal and disposal costs. 
4.1.2. The UK currently has the majority of the larger steel installations but more 
Member States could be materially affected in the future if they establish significant 
offshore oil and gas exploration and production. The UK has appeared to be strongly 
in favour of adopting a case by case approach and would probably give greater 
emphasis to a cost benefit or cost effectiveness analysis of the disposal options than 
other Member States with such installations. 
12 
4.2. Norway 
4.2.1. Norway is the other country which currently could be substantially affected 
and as an EEA meinber would eventually be subject to Communily legislation. 
Currently Norway takes a similar approach 10 the UK on the decision process 
although because the Norwegian state share of the costs is met by an actual cash 
payment to the owner (based on the tax history of the oil or gas field in question) 
approval by the Storting, the Norwegian Parliament, is required. The possible 
fmancial effects would therefore be reflected by an increase in public expenditure 
rather than in the UK case by a decrease in tax revenues. 
4.3. Industry 
4.3.1. The exploration and production industry is strongly opposed to any change in 
the current case by case approach, particularly with regard to the larger installations 
which they consider to include all the 100 or so installations which are not required to 
be completely removed under the IMO Guidelines. Initially technical feasibility was 
stressed as the most importanl factor but increasingly additional costs and safety 
faclors compared to environmental gains have been emphasised by the industry. Their 
association Is & P Forum has chailenged some of the general cost estimates contained 
in John Brown's Technical Review as not being representative of individual cases and 
have quoted the results of studies relating to two individual installations which were 
significantly higher than the John Brown estimates. The offshore contracting industry 
on the other hand has consistently argued that all the steel structures can be safely 
removed but have maintained a slightly lower profile. Their association IPLOCA did 
not challenge the cost estimates when they provided their comments on the John 
Brown Technical Review. 
4.3.2. The fishing industry's association Europeche's policy is to call for the 
complete removal of all installations when they are decommissioned. The fishing 
industry has traditionally been concerned that offshore exploration and production 
could affect fishing opportunitics through pollution, by restricting the area available 
for lishing and by installations giving rise to damage to fishing gears. 
4.4. Environmcntal Non-Governmental Organisations 
4.4.1. Environmental groups remain strongly in favour of bringing the steel 
installations to shore for recycling and/or disposal although their attitude towards 
concrete installations has been somewhat modified. Much emphasis is placed on the 
duty to take a precautionary approach given the uncertainties of sea disposal and on 
the difficulty of justifying what is seen as an exceptionally favourable treatment of the 
oil and gas industry as regards their waste. This is particularly so given the trend in 
international and EC law is towards less, rather than more, disposal of wastes in the 
sea. 
13 
4.5. Qucstions relating to liability for abandoned or dumped installatioris 
4.5.1. Although UNCLOS is silent on thc question of liability, the 1989 1MO 
Guidelines and the 1996 Protocol to thc London Convention 1972 require Contracting 
Parlies to address Ihc question of liability. For cxample, the IMO guidelines require 
coastal Stales to ensure that Ihc legal title to installations and structures which have 
not bcen entirely removed from the sea bed is unambiguous and that responsibility for 
maintenance and the financial ability to assume liability for future damages are clearly 
established. 
4.5.2. It is likely that, in most cases, liability will remain with the original owner of 
the installation. For example, the UK's consultative document "Guidance Notes for 
Industry - Abandonment of offshore Installations and Pipelines under the Petroleum 
Act 1987 (1995) recognised that abandonment would not normally involve a change 
in ownership and therefore the residual liability for any compensation or damages 
remained with the original owners in perpetuity. Although such an approach is in 
accordance vvith the polluter pays principle, perpetual liability raises a number of 
issues of concern, principally whether such owners can be effectively called to 
account if damage is caused in the future. 
4.5.3. An alternative approach would be that the State assumes responsibility for the 
disused installations. In the American example, some American States have accepted 
responsibility for certain abandoned platforms. When the relevant agency of these 
Stales issues a permit to the owner for disposal at sea it absolves the owners from any 
subsequent liabilities Industry appears to favour some form of limitation or transfer 
of liability to a state authority. Whether other States would be prepared to do the same 
is not clear. 
4.5.4. Under the existing rules the importance of establishing clearly who is the legal 
owner of any installation disposed of at sea, and who has financial responsibility for it 
has been recognised. Whether the State or Industry is ultimately responsible is less 
important than ensuring that at the time that disposal at sea takes place responsibility 
is clearly established, thereby ensuring the necessary effective protection for users of 
the sea. 
4.6. Competition and competitiveness 
4.6.1. In theory different standards could lead to problems with competition. The 
North Sea is a mature oil and gas province with a stable regulatory regime and the 
additional costs of a complete removal and disposal on land policy are not material to 
the investment decision. They arise at the end of an income stream of a number of 
years and their net present cost at the time of the development decision are negligible. 
It is therefore unlikely that there would be a serious danger of diverting investment 
away from the North Sea to other regions on cost grounds. 
14 
4.6.2. Ilowever, as regards environmental policy and in particular waste 
managemenl, should two regions apply different standards therc may be an issue. 
Ilowever, Community negotiation and implementation would ensure uniformity 
across regions where appropriale and therefore avoid any possibility of competition 
problems in this area. This would effectivcly transfer a disagreement arising in 
OSPAR to the Community. 
4.7. Third Countries 
4.7.1. Community relations with 3rd countries other than Norway might also become 
an issue if complete removal were to become a general requirement subject only to a 
restricted number of exceptions as a number of the companies operating in the North 
Sea have as their ultimate parent non EC or 3rd country corporations. For example in 
the United States of America although at present complete removal is generally 
required there is extensive reuse under a 'rigs to reefs' programme and therefore there 
is in effect disposal at sea, albeit via 'reuse'. However, there are few installations of 
the size of the large North Sea ones, certainly none have reached the end of their 
useful lives yct. Controversy surrounds the transferability of 'rigs to reefs' policy to 
the North Sea where conditions are quite different from the Mexican Gulf. Within 
OSPAR it is theoretically permilted but the necessary guidelines have not yet been 
drawn up and agreed. As any guidelines or regulations would apply to all installations, 
regardless of the nationality of the owner, there should be no question of 
discrimination against 3rd country corporations. 
5. The Community dimension 
5.1. Disposal of decommissioned offshore installations situated where the Member 
States exercise jurisdiction is clearly an issue for which the Community can exercise 
competence, cf. Article 130r(l) of the EC Treaty. Furthermore, the Community may 
exercise external competence for environmental questions, cf. Article 130r(4) of the 
Trealy and may therefore participate on behalf of the Member States in international 
negoliations. The scope of the draft OSPAR Decision is both new and existing 
installations and it will therefore affect both the known areas where there are existing 
installations as well as the as yet unknown areas where any future installations may be 
placcd. 
5.2. An important environmental challenge posed by decommissioned offshore 
installations is their potential to cause pollution by hazardous substances, including oil 
residues, both from the installations themselves and from associated piles of drill 
cuttings. Other important environmental challenges include substantial amounts of 
materials containing natural radioactive substances of low specific activity as well as 
the management and disposal of the very large amounts of demolition waste from the 
"physical structures of the installations. Also, the decommissioning issue raises non-
environmental questions concerning the safeguarding of other uses of the sea. 
15 
5.3. Hazardous and radioactive substances, once released into the marine 
environment, be freely transported in the sea across boundaries in aceordanee with 
prevailing currents and meieorological condilions and cause pollution. In this contcxt, 
the need to remove polJuled driil euîtings may influenee decisions on the need for 
complete removal of installations from the sea bed. The requirement to protect the sea 
against such pollution is therefore clearly an international one. Substantial 
Community legislation to prevent direct and indirect pollution of the sea by hazardous 
substances is alrsady in place. Examples of such important legislation are inter alia 
Directives 76/464/EEC (discharge of dangerous substances) and 76/769/EEC 
(restrictions on marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and preparations) 
as well as risk asssssment framework laid down in Counciî Regulation 793/93/EEC 
(risk assessment). Also, the Community has set basic safety standards in the area of 
radiation exposure through Direclive 96/29/EURATOM (basic safety standards).An 
OSPAR Decision on offshore installations couîd, depending on its contcnl undermine 
somc of the envircnmental beneilts resuîting from the impiementation of Community 
legislation concerning hazardous substances and radioactive exposure. 
5.4. in the area of waste disposal, for hazardous as weli as non-hazardous waste, a 
Community poliey and extensive Community legislation is already in place, in 
particular Directives 75/442/EEC (waste framework) and 91/689/EEC (hazardous 
waste). The objsctives of the waste legislation include the reduction of risks to the 
environment from hazardous waste, the protection of human heaîth and the 
environment against harrnful effects caused by transportation, treatment and dumping 
of waste, and the promoiion of waste recovery with a view to the conservation of 
natural resources. The waste legislation inter alia prohibits the abandonment of waste, 
rsquirs waste to be treated without using methods which could cause harm to the 
environment and without risk to water and require the separation of hazardous waste 
from non-hazardous waste and its subsequent safe treatment and disposal. There is 
thus a substantial Comrm.inity interest in ensuring coherence of a future regime for 
removal and disposal of offshore installations and Community waste poîicy and 
legislation. 
5.5. Protection of species and their habitats and conservation of biodiversity is an 
area which requires concerted action by the Member States. The Community has 
therefore adopted Jegislution in this area, in particular Directives 79/409/EEC (wild 
birds) and 92/43/EEC (conservation of natural habitats). As measures taken with 
regard to removal and disposal of offshore installations may have effects on species 
and habitats , the disposal of offshore installations is clearly an issue where an 
international soîution is needed. 
5.6. The Study carried out'for the Commission Services showed that if sea 
disposal is to be carried out, the only generally cost-effective soîution is to topple 
installations at the location where they have been in operation. Although there is no 
scientifïc evidence to suggest that the presence of such structures on the seabed will 
enhanee marine life ovsrall, they might givs rise to a local concentration of fishes and 
other animal groups on and around the structures, most likely to the detriment of other 
areas. 
16 
(n addition, (he seabed at tlie large majority of (hese localions is highly polluted due lo 
Ihc presence of large piles of oil conlaminaled drill cuttings from the oil and gas 
exploitation uclivities. Sea disposal might therefore have the effect of unnecessariiy 
exposing marinc life to oil poilution which could, apart from any gcneral delrimental 
effccts of such exposure, also result in the lainling of fish. Sea disposal may therefore 
offset the benefits of Community legislation in the area of protection of species and 
habitats and may in the future give rise to infringements of this legislation. 
Furthermore, it may impact on the quality of fish caught for human consumption. 
5.7. Safeguarding other human uses of the sea and the seabed is another important 
issue to be taken into acco'unt. An important example of this is ensuring the safety of 
navigation which is appropriately taken care of internationaliy by the IMO guidelines 
on removal of installations. Another important issue is the interaction of removal 
decisions with the management of fisheries in the open sea which is a competence of 
the Community under the Common Fishcrics Policy. Clearly, the degree of removal 
of decommissioned offshore installations will inlerfere with the availability of the 
arcas concerned for cerlain types of fisheries, with the safety of fishcrmen and will 
increase the risk of loss of gears and vessels. Measures adoptcd concerning rcmoval 
and disposal of decommissioned offshore installations therefore interfere considerably 
with the Common Fisheries Policy in particular by interfering with the management 
of arcas available for fishing. 
Although the influence of decisions on removal and disposal of offshore installations 
on the production price of oil and gas is negligible, there is nevertheless a 
considerable Community interest in ensuring that the oil and gas exploration and 
exploitation industry is subjected to the same approach to removal and disposal 
requirements across the Community thus ensuring that such requirements do not 
become a competition factor. 
5.8. In summary, there is a preponderant Community interest in the issue of 
removal and disposal of disused offshore oil and gas installations. In the 
cnvironmcntal area il is related particularly lo qucslions of poilution with hazardous 
substances and low-Ievel radioactive wastes, ha/ardous and non-hazardous wastes, 
conscrvation of biodiversity and protection of species of habitats. In other areas, it is 
particularly related to the Common Fisheries Policy and to ensuring a common 
approach across the Community to decommissioning requirements and to residual 
liability thus ensuring that these do not become competition factors between Member 
States. A clear and unambiguous Community policy and implementation will notably 
help ensure the uniform application and enforcement of Community policy and 
measures in this area both within the same seas and between different seas, and will in 
particular mitigate the inherent risks of tncompatibilities and unequal treatment which 
might develop if different approaches are adopted by the different regional seas 
conventions. 
It is therefore appropriate for the Community to take action concerning the disposal of 
offshore oil and gas installations. It is clear that the objectives in this area cannot be 
sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore be better achieved by 
the Community. 
17 
6. Dgfining a Community flosatàoa 
6A. The disposaî of offshore oil and gas installation is an issue of direct 
Community interest. in ihe absence of -direct Community action initiatives would be 
limited to mdividual Member States' negoîiaticns within the various regional 
Conventions and action would essentially be at the individual MS level. Each MS 
might be bound to implement only the specific rules which they supported and were 
adopted by ths Con-venticns to which they are a Contracting Party. The risk would be 
the laek of a ccherent àpproach across the Community îeading to unequaî treatment of 
compcting industries and possible contradictory environmental protection measures. 
Even if similar rules were to be adopted by the different regional sea Conventions 
they mightbs applied very differently across the Community, both within the same 
seas and between different seas. Furthermore Convention decisions maybe difficult to 
cnforcs. This potenti-al 'ack of consistency and enforcement could îead to a 
requirement for Community action at a îaîer daîe to rectify the situation and avoid 
Community enterprises being faeed with a range of different regulatory regimes. 
6.2. One way of moving forward would be to propose internal Community 
legislation, such as a Council Pirective, immediately. The nature of the Community' 
and its îegislaîivs process would aîiow for a uniform application and enforcement but 
only across thç EC and EEA. The disadvantage of this àpproach is that only EC and 
EEA Member States would be bound to the common àpproach whereas other third 
countries with which we'share the Seas concerned would not be bound to implement 
the same or similar measures without the Community takirig the initiative to negotiate 
and adopt such rules in the relevanî regional seas Conventions. Aîthough this 
àpproach would have the advantage of applying to all EC Member States immediately 
ie also to those Member States outside OSPAR - namely Austria, Greece and Italy it 
would only apply to Norway after a Decision of the EEA Joint Comrnitîee. It could 
also be interpreted as prejudicial to Community interest in other OSPAR policies if 
the Commission were to be seen to press ahead separately for action via EC 
legislation raîher than via the newly ratifîed OSPAR Convention. Furthermore it 
could be seen as an attempt to .exclude. Norway from negoîiaîions on any fmal policy. 
6.3. A rnorë prudenî and appropriate course of action would be negotiation by the 
Community of the. rules and regulations via the respective regional marine 
environmental Conventions, which would ensure that appropriate policies are uniform 
across regions, exîending where applicable to third countries outside the EC. 
Application and enforcement for 3rd countries would elearly remain under the 
Conventions but EC and EEA Member States would benefît from established 
Community application .and enforcement standsrds-. Action in this way via OSPAR 
ensures that advantage can be taken of the considéràble amount of effort already 
Qxpendsû within that Convention on negotiations with the prospect of achieving 
agreement in July of this year and.enabies Norway to.play a fuller role in negotiating 
the Decision. Similar-Community action in the other Regional Conventions could then 
be taken as necessary, extending the policy to include more States. 
7. ConcCgsÊons 
l.\. The recammendeé approach is therefcre that of Ccmmumty negotiaticn and 
irripïcmenîation of .a poîicy on remova! and disposal of ofYshore oii and gas 
in&tallations via muîti&teral agreements in intern&iional fora such as OSPAR. 
7.2. At this stage, the Community shquid airn to retain maximum llexibiitty over 
the detaiîed ccntent of any Decision, regdaiion or îegislation thereby avoiding the 
risk of prejucicing the current attempts within OSPAR to reach an agreed solution. 
However, in order for any OSPAR Decision to be potiticaUy acceptabte, it must be 
iine with ciïrrent Community poiicies and wherc policy is under review be in line'with 
the îatest anaîyses and concfusions and accordingiy broad, rather than detailed 
objéctives are specifîed. 
7.3. Any action undertaken < by the Community would airn at a high level of 
environmenta! protection and shou!d ensure that the disused instaliations in question 
are treated in a manner consistent with which other wastes are treated under 
Community iegislation and with Community environment and energy policy as weli 
as with the needs of the Common Fisheries Poiicy. 
7.4. It must also take due account of the results of the Commission's externaity 
prcduced technical review in 1996, in particular the concfusions on technica! 
feasibility and safety, and the results of ongoing internal study and analysis which, 
with some exceptions, support the original position taken by the Commission at the 
4th North Sea Conference in 1995 that complete removaî and recycling and disposal 
on land is the preferred option, 
7.5. The OSPAR Decision should also rccognise that even under the current 
regimes in force it is aîready generally accepted that few instaliations are even 
candidates for sea disposal and that the regulations themseîves express a clear 
preference for land disposal. 
Therefore the OSPAR Decision must be based on the main rule that complete remova! 
and recycling and disposal on land is preferable and that the scope for any exceptions 
to this, where total or partial removai and disposal at sea may be considered, should 
be limited to a few instaliations and clearly defined. 
7.6. Following this communication, and on the basis of Council Conclusions of 16 
December 1997 authorising the Commission to negotiate and vote in the name of the 
Community on Decisions under Article 10, para 3 of the OSPAR Convention, the 
Commission will forward to the Council a separate document requesting the Council 
to endorse recommended specific negotiating directives. 
19 
7.7. In as lar as thc Convcnlion pcrmils, any Dccision must dcal with all Ihc 
relcvanl issuos, and providc for maximum consullation and dialoguc bctwccn 
intcrestccl parties in a transparcnt lashion. On Ihc basis of these principles the OSPAR 
dccision should satisiy thc following objcctives: 
a. an OSPAR dccision based on the principle of prohibitionof disposai at sea of 
such installations; 
b. all instdlations, except for a limited number identified in special 
circumstances on the basis of individual evaluations, taking into account all 
relevant aspects including technieal, environmental, safety and cost factors, are 
completsly removed when decommissioned and brought to land for recycling 
and safc disposai of unavoidablc residucs; 
c. large concrcle inslallations arc cxcmplcd irom the requirements undcr b. as 
there arc currcntly no provcn technologics available; 
d. decisions to lcave any instaliations wholly or partly in place or to dispose of 
them, wholly or partly, in the sea are prepared and taken in full consultation 
with other Contracting Parties and with interested organisations; 
c. new installalions (post 1 January 1998) should be completely removed when 
decommissioned and brought to land for recycling and safe disposai of 
unavoidable residues, whenever this is feasible, safe, and does not pose a 
significant risk to the environment. 
7.8. In addition, the OSPAR decision should ensure: 
z that it be subject to a regular thorough review, at least every five years, 
to snsure that deeommissioning experience, relevant scientific and 
technological advances, and all other relevant information including 
the results of individual evaluations made under b) above are properly 
taken into account. 
* that the legal title to installations and structures which have not been 
entirely removed from the sea bed is unambiguous, and that 
responsibilily for maintenance and liability for future damages, 
including the financial ability io assume such liability, are clearly 
estabhshed. 
20 
ISSN 0254-1475 
COM(98) 49 finai 
& rt \£ "^"f" flf ENTS 
i.N 14 12 07 15 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-98-iOO-EN-C 
ISBN 92-78-31251-7 
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