COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Facing the challenge of the safety of offshore oil and gas activities
Date: 2010-10-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: corporate social responsibility, environmental protection, gas industry, harmonisation of standards, oil industry, oil pollution, public safety, trade licence

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 12.10.2010 
COM(2010) 560 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 

Facing the challenge of the safety of offshore oil and gas activities 

{SEC(2010) 1193 final} 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 

Facing the challenge of the safety of offshore oil and gas activities 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico on 20 April 2010 
and  the  subsequent  massive  leak  from  the  oil  well  on  the  sea  bottom  caused  significant 
environmental, economic and social damage1.  

As waters off EU shores are in parts intensively exploited for the production of oil and gas2 
and  more  exploration  is  taking  place,  the  EU  has  a  vital  interest  in  preventing  a  similar 
disaster. Although investigations into the causes of the accident, its full impact on ecosystems 
in and beyond the Gulf of Mexico, and the various responsibilities at stake are still underway, 
first lessons can already been drawn and acted upon.  

The  number  of  offshore  installations  in  the  North  East  Atlantic  alone  exceeds  1,000. 
Furthermore, while installations in the Black and Baltic Seas still only amount to single digits, 
there  are  currently  over  100  installations  operating  in  EU  waters  in  the  Mediterranean  and 
plans  to  start  new  exploration  are  reported  in  the  Maltese  and  Cypriot  sectors.  Oil  and  gas 
exploration  or  production  also  takes  place  in  the  close  vicinity  of  the  EU,  off  the  coasts  of 
Algeria, Croatia, Egypt, Israel, Libya, Tunisia, Turkey and Ukraine. 

Major offshore installations in and around Europe 

Source: European Environment Agency 

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Eleven lives were lost in the explosion and subsequent fire. An estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil had 
been released into the ocean before the leak was halted after 85 days, affecting 350-450 km of US coast.  
In 2009, production of oil and natural gas in the EU and Norway amounted to 196 and 269 million tons 
of  oil  equivalent,  respectively.  Some  90%  of  EEA  oil  and  60%  of  gas  production  originates  from 
offshore. 

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The European offshore oil and gas industry has not been immune  to severe accidents in the 
past, as the Piper Alpha and Alexander Kielland in the North Sea3 have shown. As a result, a 
number of European countries have introduced in recent years strict safety requirements and 
regulatory  regimes.  Yet  the  experience  of  the  Deepwater  Horizon  needs  to  lead  to  sincere 
reflection  also  in  Europe  on  whether  the  current  regulatory  frameworks  and  practices  are 
adequate in terms of safety and emergency preparedness and response.  

Such a reflection is also warranted by the transformation of the European oil and gas industry 
in  response  to  the  progressive  depletion  of  "easy”  oil  and  gas  reservoirs.  Exploration  is 
moving towards more complex environments characterised by high pressure/high temperature 
reservoirs, deeper waters and/or extreme climatic conditions that may complicate the control 
of  subsea  installations  and  incident  response.  At  the  same  time,  production  facilities  in 
maturing  fields  are  ageing  and  often  taken  over  by  specialist  operators  with  smaller  capital 
bases. 

The  EU  has  an  interest  in  maintaining  indigenous  oil  and  gas  production  for  security  of 
energy supply reasons as well as for keeping jobs and business opportunities in the European 
economy. Whilst risks cannot be totally eliminated in most human activities, including in the 
offshore  hydrocarbon  industry,  the  safety  and  integrity  of  operations  and  assurances  of 
maximum protection of European citizens and the environment must be guaranteed.  

The scale and gravity of the Deepwater Horizon accident prompted the Commission to launch 
already in May an urgent assessment of safety in offshore oil, as well as gas, exploration and 
production activities in European waters. Through a review of applicable European legislation 
and consultations with industry and Member States' competent authorities4, the Commission 
identified  in  July5  five  main  areas  where  action  is  needed  to  maintain  the  safety  and 
environmental credentials of the EU:  

•  thorough licensing procedures,  

•  improved controls by public authorities,  

•  addressing gaps in applicable legislation,  

•  reinforced EU disaster response, and  

•  international  cooperation  to  promote  offshore  safety  and  response  capabilities 

worldwide. 

A number of particular best practices exist in Member States and industry already in relation 
to  safety,  preparedness  and  response.  However,  the  challenge  posed  by  the  risk  of  a  large 
offshore accident requires that state of the art practices become the norm throughout the EU 
and its waters6. Such a uniform high level of safety will elicit full public confidence and can 

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The Piper Alpha platform exploded in 1988 killing 167 people and releasing 670 tons of oil into the sea. 
123 people died when the Alexander Kielland platform capsized in 1980. 
Public  administration  bodies  involved  in  licensing  and  supervision  of  offshore  activities  in  Member 
States. 
Statements of Commissioners Oettinger and Damanaki at EP plenary on 7 July. 
Waters under the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the EU Member States in the Mediterranean, the Baltic 
and  the  Black  Seas  and  the  North-East  Atlantic  Ocean,  including  the  waters  surrounding  the  Azores, 

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underpin  EU  efforts  to  ensure  high  levels  of  safety,  preparedness  and  response  also  beyond 
European borders, both in other jurisdictions and in international waters.  

All this can only be achieved through determined action by the public authorities in Europe 
and  a  strong  partnership  between  all  actors  involved  -  EU  institutions,  Member  States, 
industry,  NGOs  and  other  stakeholders  –  in  line  with  the  principles  of  the  EU's  Integrated 
Maritime Policy. The European Parliament has issued a resolution on EU action on offshore 
oil  activities  calling  on  the  Commission  to  bring  forward  a  comprehensive  legal  framework 
ensuring  uniformly  high  safety  standards  apply  across  the  EU  and  third  countries  and 
including  proposals  covering  inter  alia  accident  prevention,  disaster  response  and  liability7. 
This Communication presents the first steps towards such goal.  

2. 

ENSURING "STATE OF THE ART" PRACTICES ACROSS EUROPE 

Improving  the  safety  of  citizens  and  the  protection  of  the  environment  cannot  rely  on 
industry's  discretionary  initiative  and  self-regulation  alone.  The  regulatory  regime  must 
ensure  that  industry  complies  with  clear,  robust  and  ambitious  rules  allowing  only  safe  and 
sustainable operations. In addition, the regime must provide for a high level of transparency 
enabling  the  industry  and  public  authorities  to  demonstrate  to  any  interested  party  that 
activities  that  carry  risks  to  life,  environment  or  property  are  appropriately  managed  and 
controlled.  

While international regimes for offshore oil and gas operations are either not fully developed 
or  lack  effective  enforcement  mechanisms,  the  situation  in  Europe  is  largely  determined  by 
provisions  in  the  national  legislation  of  individual  Member  States,  as  EU  legislation  either 
does not cover various relevant aspects of the sector  or  provides  only  performance  minima. 
Provisions  which  apply  to  offshore  activities  are  also  often  spread  across  different  EU 
legislative measures. 

This results in licensing, operational safety and environmental protection regimes which vary 
from  one  Member  State  to  the  next.  This  heterogeneity  complicates  the  understanding  and 
management  of  health,  safety  and  environmental  risks  in  Europe  and  increases  costs  for 
companies.  Importantly,  it  risks  slowing  down  coordinated  response  to  accidents  affecting 
several  Member  States  as  technical  standards,  data  formats  and  response  procedures  vary 
across Europe and within the same sea basin.  

The  Commission  proposes  to  work  towards  an  overhauled  and  more  coherent  legal 
framework  for  offshore  exploration  and  production  activities  in  Europe  which  ensures  EU-
wide application of state-of-the-art practices. While European citizens and environment will 
benefit  from  ever  higher  level  of  protection,  the  industry  stands  to  benefit  mainly  through 
simplification  and  levelling  of  the  playing  field.  To  this  end,  various  options  exist  such  as 
amending  different  pieces  of  existing  legislation  individually,  designing  consolidated 
legislation for offshore activities, or developing soft legal instruments complementing existing 
legislation.  The  risks  at  stake,  the  need  for  legal  certainty  and  the  principles  of  "better 
regulation"  speak  in  the  Commission's  view  in  favour  of  a  single  new  piece  of  specific 

Madeira  and  the  Canary  Islands.  These  include  coastal  waters,  territorial  waters  and  Exclusive 
Economic Zones (EEZ). 
Resolution on EU action on oil exploration and extraction in Europe adopted on 07 October 2010. 

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legislation  for  offshore  oil  and  gas  activities,  possibly  supported  by  soft  legal  measures 
(guidelines). 

2.1.  The crucial role of responsible licensing  

Licensing  stands  out  as  the  first  key  tool  to  ensure  the  safety  of  new  drilling  activities  in 
complex  environments.  The  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union  (TFEU) 
establishes, in the context of the establishment and functioning of the internal market and with 
regard for the need to preserve and improve the environment, a Union policy on energy8. It 
also recalls that Member States have the right to determine the conditions for exploiting their 
energy resources, their choices between different energy sources and the general structure of 
their energy supply, without prejudice to the environmental policy of the Union9. The existing 
EU legislation  on licensing10 deals only with competitive aspects of licensing procedures to 
ensure equal access to national bidding rounds for entities accross the EU.  

Consequently,  each  Member  State  issues  licences  and  other  approvals  necessary  for  the 
exploration and production of hydrocarbon resources within its territory and in waters falling 
under  its  jurisdiction,  setting  its  own  requirements  for  license  awards.  Nevertheless,  the 
approvals by individual Member States to drill off their shores may have a significant impact 
on other Member States. The environmental, economic and social damages caused by a major 
oil spill affect marine and coastal areas irrespective of national borders. 

It is therefore crucial that licensing procedures anywhere in Europe conform to certain basic 
common criteria. National licensing procedures in all Member States should be reviewed to 
reflect  recognized  best  practices  and  to  include  EU-wide  obligations  for  safety,  health  and 
environmental performance, risk management and independent verification.  

The licensing regime needs to  be  backed up by  an  unequivocal  liability regime which  must 
include  adequate  financial  security  instruments  to  cover  major  incidents.  The  existing 
financial security instruments need to be assessed with regard to financial ceilings and may be 
usefully  complemented  by  other  risk-coverage  instruments,  such  as  funds,  insurance, 
guarantees, etc. 

•  Key  requirements  for  the  licensing  of  hydrocarbon  exploration  and  production  should  be 
defined at EU level. The Commission will make proposals to that effect in 2011 supported 
by an impact assessment. Key requirements to be evaluated should include:  

(1) 

(2) 

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Presentation of a full 'safety case' and associated health and safety documentation11 for 
each operation, detailing the provisions for dealing with critical events including any 
concomitant activity which could cause serious accidents. 

Demonstration of the technical capacity of prospective operators to take all appropriate 
measures to prevent and respond to  critical events, taking into account the operating 

Article 194 of TFEU Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. 
ibidem 
Directive  94/22/EC  on  the  conditions  for  granting  and  using  authorizations  for  the  prospection, 
exploration and production of hydrocarbons. 
Directive  92/91/EEC  concerning  the  minimum  requirements  for  improving  the  safety  and  health 
protection of workers in the mineral extracting industries through drilling, Article 3. 

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conditions  of  the  given  location  and  the  character  of  activities  for  which  a  concrete 
license is sought. 

(3) 

Financial  capability  to  handle  the  consequences  of  unforeseen  events,  including 
possible participation in suitable insurance schemes or risk-coverage instruments. 

2.2.  Regulatory regime conducive to highest safety of operations  

The fragmentation of legal frameworks in the EU does not only concern the licensing stage, 
but  also  the  operations  of  installations.  Variations  occur  as  EU  Member  States  transpose 
minimum  requirements  from  EU  health  and  safety  directives  into  national  legislation  as 
Member States are allowed to maintain or introduce more protective measures than those laid 
down  in  the  minimum  requirements.  As  a  result,  several  drilling  rigs  operated  by  the  same 
company in the waters of different Member States may each conform to different regulatory 
requirements.  Besides  the  obvious  challenges  to  the  integrity  of  safety  measures,  this 
complexity  may  lead  in  particular  to  additional  costs  for  the  industry  and  hamper  the 
functioning of the internal market. 

To  guarantee  maximum  safety  and  a  level  playing  field  for  industrial  operators,  the 
requirements  applicable  to  industry  through  goal-setting  or,  where  appropriate,  prescriptive 
legislation need to be designed according to uniform criteria, inspired by the state of the art in 
the sector and must be rigorously enforced. These requirements must include, in addition to 
the financial and technical capability, key features to protect the health and safety of workers 
on  offshore  installations,  guarantee  the  integrity  of  installations,  provide  a  high  level  of 
protection of the environment, and prevent and respond to accidents.  

Not only future operations and installations but also existing ones must consistently conform 
to  the  highest  levels  of  safety  and  protection.  Maintenance  should  include  requirements  for 
regular upgrading of installations as technology evolves. 

The  existing  environmental  legislation  addresses  a  number  of  issues  relevant  to  offshore 
installations (e.g. environmental impact assessment) and certain aspects of offshore operations 
(e.g.  emissions  from  platforms).  Yet  the  installations  are  not  covered  by  EU  legislation  on 
pollution  control  and  major  accident  hazards12  which  was  mainly  designed  to  address  land-
based installations and risks of major accidents on land. 

•  The  Commission  will  assess  ways  to  strengthen  environmental  legislation  in  relation  to 
pollution  control, 
individual 
installations. Legislative proposals will either extend existing legislation to offshore oil and 
gas installations or develop a stand-alone instrument for such operations. 

inspection,  accident  prevention  and  management  of 

The minimum requirements for the protection of the health and safety of labour force in oil 
and  gas  drilling  industries  are  defined  in  the  Framework  Directive  89/391/EEC,  its  relevant 
individual directives and the sector-specific individual Directive 92/91/EEC13.  

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Directive 96/82/EC  on  the  control of  major-accident hazards  involving  dangerous  substances  (Seveso 
II). 
Council directive 89/391/EEC on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety 
and health of workers at work. 

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•  Building  on  the  complete  Deepwater  Horizon  investigation  results,  the  Commission  will 
review  the  framework  for  health  and  safety,  including  the  need  to  amend  Directive 
92/91/EEC  on  the  minimum  protection  of  workers  in  the  mineral-extracting  industries 
through  drilling,  reflecting  also  on  the  possible  psychological  effects  of  isolated  working 
conditions on the occurrence of man-caused errors.  

•  Member  State  licensing  authorities  and  operators  should  review  and  update  as  necessary 
the  "safety  cases"  and  the  Safety  and  Health  Documents.  Once  this  review  is  completed, 
they  should  establish  a  clearly  defined  upgrade  programme  should  any  deficiencies  be 
revealed.  

EU  product  safety  legislation14  applies  in  general  to  equipment  in  offshore  oil  and  gas 
facilities, but excludes from its scope mobile offshore drilling units (MODU)15 and equipment 
thereon. MODUs are considered as seagoing vessels and their safety is subject to rules in the 
International  Maritime  Organization  (IMO)  Code  for  the  Construction  and  Equipment  of 
Mobile  Offshore  Drilling  Units  ("MODU  Code").  However,  this  Code  includes  neither 
requirements  for  the  operation  of  industrial  equipment  used  for  drilling  the  wells  nor  the 
procedures for their control. Moreover, the relevant EU legislation also excludes well control 
equipment from its scope. 

A number of national, European and international technical standards for offshore oil and gas 
activities exist, but few of them provide a presumption of conformity with EU law. National 
regulations often refer to technical standards, but the standards used vary from one Member 
State to another. 

•  The Commission will examine the feasibility of extending the scope of EU product safety 
legislation  to  include  equipment  installed  and  used  on  mobile  offshore  units.  This  will 
require clarification of the interface with the MODU Code, in cooperation with the IMO. 

•  The  Commission  will,  in  cooperation  with  national  authorities,  critically  assess  current 
regulations and practices for well design and control, in light of the lessons learned from 
the Deepwater Horizon accident. If the current rules are found insufficient or too unevenly 
applied,  the  Commission  will  examine  the  need  for  further  harmonisation  in  this  sector, 
using appropriate legislative and/or non-legislative instruments. 

•  The  Commission  will  encourage,  in  cooperation  with  the  national  authorities  and 
standardisation  organisations  CEN,  CENELEC,  ISO  and  IEC,  the  development  of 
necessary technical standards. 

2.3.  Liability regimes 

Clear  provisions  on  the  responsibility  for  clean-up  and  the  ultimate  liability  for  any  caused 
damage  discourage  the  operators  from  underestimating  risks  or  compromising  on  safety 
measures. This deterrent effect helps limiting the risks of environmental damage.  

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Directive  2006/42/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  machinery,  and  amending 
Directive  95/16/EC,  and  Directive  97/23/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  the 
approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning pressure equipment. 
The Deepwater Horizon rig was classified as such MODU. 

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Building  on  the  precautionary  and  polluter  pays  principles  set  in  the  EU  treaties16,  EU 
environmental  and  maritime  legislation  contains  a  system  of  provisions  to  provide  for  the 
remedy  of  damage  following  an  accident.  The  European  Court  of  Justice  has  already 
established,  in  the  context  of  cases  related  to  shipwrecks,  that  hydrocarbons  accidentally 
spilled  at  sea  constitute  waste  within  the  meaning  of  EU  legislation  on  waste,  with  the 
corresponding responsibilities of the operator for damages, including clean-up costs. 

The Environmental Liability Directive addresses the liability for environmental damages that 
may result also from an accident or other critical events in offshore activities. This legislation 
must ensure without any ambiguity that offshore operators are under strict liability, not only 
for  damage  caused  to  protected  species,  natural  habitats  and  to  the  waters  covered  by  the 
Water  Framework  Directive,  but  also  to  all  marine  areas  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Member 
States. 

•  The  Commission  will  propose  amendments  to  the  Environmental  Liability  Directive  to 
cover  environmental  damage  to  all  marine  waters  as  defined  in  the  Marine  Strategy 
Framework Directive17.  

•  The  Commission  will  re-consider  the  option  of  introducing  a  requirement  for  mandatory 
financial security and will in this regard examine the sufficiency of actual financial ceilings 
for established financial security instruments with regard to potential major accidents that 
involve responsible parties with limited financial capacity.  

•  The applicability of the Waste Framework Directive to oil spills will be one of the issues to 
be addressed in a guidance document, currently under preparation, on the interpretation of 
the said Directive. 

2.4. 

Industry's responsibility 

Industry bears the primary responsibility for the safety of its operations. Its operations must 
give visible and unequivocal priority to safety and sustainability over any other concern. This 
must  be  evidenced  through  investments  in  prevention,  accident  response  and  oil  recovery 
capacities.  It  is  in  the  companies'  interest  to  convincingly  commit  to  the  highest  levels  of 
safety  and  accident  prevention,  as  this  will  determine  the  competitiveness  of  their  sector  as 
well as the scope of necessary regulatory actions to come.  

The  steps  taken  so  far  in  the  industry  vary  from  company  to  company  and  need  to  be 
complemented  by  joint  industry  initiatives.  The  first  such  actions  have  already  been 
announced18.  Still,  the  industry  needs  to  make  further  quantifiable  and  far-reaching 
commitments  to  develop  the  capacities  and  adopt  an  uncompromising  "safety-first"  culture 
which will prevent future disasters in Europe and elsewhere. 

While  both  industry  and  authorities  have  proved  their  capabilities  to  mobilize  and  rather 
effectively  deploy  resources  to  fight  the  oil  spill  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  the  time  needed  to 
stem  the  leak  from  the  well  itself  as  well  as  to  identify  the  causes  constitute  a  matter  of 

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TFEU Article 191(2). 
Directive 2008/56/EC. 
A working group was created within the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers to assess 
current  practices  and  consider  improvements.  An  industrial  consortium  has  been  set  up  to  develop 
emergency well intervention tools for the Gulf of Mexico. 

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concern.  The  industry  should  therefore  work,  where  suited  in  partnership  with  public 
authorities,  on  new  emergency  response  tools  which  will  be  deployable  and  usable  on 
equipment and sites in all marine environments in Europe. 

•  The  Commission  calls  on  the  industry,  which  is  well  placed  to  assess  the  technical 
requirements for safe offshore oil and gas operations, to contribute to setting the necessary 
standards and to propose self-regulatory actions. 

•  The Commission calls on the industry to finalise and present still in 2010 individual action 
plans as well as joint industry roadmaps detailing the timing, nature, content and resources 
needed to implement the intended actions. These plans and roadmaps should be submitted 
for scrutiny to the regulators and, to the extent they do not contain commercially sensitive 
information, be made widely available.  

•  The Commission calls on the industry to initiate the creation of a consortium tasked with 
the development and establishment of facilities in Europe for first rapid response in case of 
accidents. The consortium should undertake to develop tools for emergency well control. 

2.5.  New model for public oversight 

Public  authorities  bear  crucial  responsibility  for  setting  a  correct  regulatory  framework  for 
offshore  activities,  taking  into  account  also  the  principles  of  Maritime  Spatial  Planning19. 
They  must  also  ensure  operators'  full  compliance  through  effective  oversight  consisting  of 
communication, advice, control and enforcement.  

This  must  be  coupled  with  active  engagement  with  the  general  public  and  stakeholders 
representing potentially affected economic and social interests. Transparency and inclusion in 
decision-making  and  oversight  should  be  promoted  in  line  with  best  practice  in  maritime 
governance20.  

Industry oversight by public authorities should build on best administrative practices already 
available in Europe and can be reinforced by actions at EU level. For example, the inclusion 
of  inspection  tasks  similar  to  those  performed  in  maritime  transport  in  the  activities  of  the 
European  Maritime  Safety  Agency  (EMSA)  could  be  usefully  evaluated;  subject  to  EU 
legislation  providing  for  a  clear  scope,  equipment  standards  and  safety  requirements,  this 
could help promote effective oversight and compliance verification across the EU. 

•  The Commission will, in cooperation with Member States authorities, define state-of-the-
art  practices  to  be  applied  by  the  regulatory  and  supervisory  authorities  in  offshore 
licensing, inspections and compliance monitoring. These will be modelled on the existing 
best practices in Member States' competent authorities, and their dissemination to all EU 
jurisdictions will be sought, making full use also of the potential of structured stakeholder 
dialogue in the Fossil Fuels "Berlin" Forum.  

•  The  Commission  will  work  with  Member  States 

to  establish  a  voluntary 
consultation/reporting  mechanism  on  the  licensing  of  complex  offshore  operations  which 

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Maritime Spatial Planning is a key tool to manage the competition between different activities for space 
in intensively used maritime areas by ensuring their long-term stability and predictability. 
See Communication “Guidelines on an Integrated Approach to Maritime Policy: Towards Best Practice 
in Integrated Maritime Governance and Stakeholder Consultation” - COM(2008) 395. 

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will  enable  wider  expert  scrutiny  e.g.  through  a  peer  review  by  competent  authorities  in 
adjacent coastal Member States.  

•  The  Commission  will  work  with  Member  States,  industry  and  other  stakeholders  to 
provide  the  public  with  easy  access  to  continuously  updated  information  on  safety 
measures,  risk  management,  contingency  plans  and  company-specific  statistics  on  key 
safety indicators.  

•  The Commission will work with Member States to provide a framework for independent 
evaluation of the performance of national regulators, notably as  regards their  supervision 
tasks. 

3. 

PRECAUTION MUST APPLY WHILE IMPROVEMENTS TAKE PLACE 

Until  complete  investigation  results  into  the  causes  of  the  Deepwater  Horizon  accident  are 
available, industry efforts in enhancing the safety of operations bring tangible results, and the 
campaign  to  duly  reinforce  the  regulatory  framework  across  Europe  has  run  its  course, 
particular  restraint  and  additional  caution  should  be  applied  both  to  ongoing  exploration  or 
production operations and to new planning and permitting procedures. 

Precaution  should  be  proportionate  to  the  risks  and  focus  in  particular  on  complex  offshore 
operations  where  extreme  climate,  high  pressure/high  temperature  reservoirs,  deep  water  or 
particularly  sensitive  natural  environments  would  render  such  extra  care  warranted.  In  such 
complex  operations,  a  temporary  suspension  of  future  authorisations  could  be  appropriate. 
Any  precautionary  measures  should  be  proportionate  to  the  risks  and  co-ordinated  at  EU 
level. 

•  The  Commission  calls  upon  the  Member  States  to  review  all  complex  oil  or  gas 
exploration  operations  and  to  ensure  that  best  practice  standards  are  uniformly  applied 
across  the  EU.  While  any  decision  to  suspend  offshore  drilling  operations  is  left  to  the 
discretion of Member States, the Commission reiterates its call upon the Member States to 
rigorously  apply  a  precautionary  approach  in  the  licensing  of  new  complex  oil  or  gas 
exploration  operations  and  to  examine  whether  a  suspension  of  such  licensing  is  needed 
until  the  European  offshore  safety  regimes  have  been  assessed  in  light  of  the  Deepwater 
Horizon accident.  

4. 

REINFORCING EU'S INTERVENTION CAPACITY FOR OFFSHORE ACCIDENTS 

In case of a serious accident off any Member State's shores, its response teams must be able to 
call  on  all  available  capacities  at  hand,  including  those  of  the  industry21  and  other  Member 
States.  The  EU  has  instruments  to  complement  emergency  response  and  civil  protection 
mechanisms  of  Member  States  through  the  Community  Civil  Protection  Mechanism  which, 
on  request,  provides  support  and  facilitates  the  co-ordination  and  provision  of  European 
assistance.  It  covers  both  civil  protection  and  marine  pollution.  Its  Monitoring  and 
Information  Centre  (MIC),  operated  by  the  European  Commission,  is  available  on  a  24/7 
basis.  

21 

Oil Spill Response Ltd (part of the Global Response Network). 

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If  needed,  MIC  can  quickly  mobilise  the  oil  recovery  capacity  of  the  European  Maritime 
Safety Agency (EMSA). Although EMSA focuses on marine pollution from vessels and the 
related emergency preparedness activities, it could meaningfully intervene in case of oil spills 
from  offshore  oil  facilities  as  its  capacities,  such  as  pollution  response  vessels  and  satellite 
imagery,  can  cope  with  an  oil  spill  irrespective  of  its  source.  The  Commission  is  therefore 
initiating  changes  to  the  EMSA's  Founding  Regulation22  to  enable  it  to  support  response  to 
marine pollution from any source, including oil and gas offshore installations. 

Work is also under way to further strengthen the overall EU disaster prevention and response 
capacity,  including  assistance  provided  through  MIC.  These  efforts  should  seek  synergies 
with actions taken by the industry aimed at developing capacities for rapid well intervention 
and oil spill response.  

The efficiency and speed of any offshore emergency response also depends on the availability 
of  instantaneous  information  on  the  state  of  the  water  column  and  sea-bottom  during  the 
accident.  These  data  are  not  fully  available  at  present  on  an  EU-wide  basis  and  cannot  be 
quickly  assembled  from  fragmented  public  and  private  sources  to  appropriately  monitor  the 
progress of an accident. 

•  In 2010 the Commission will present a Communication with the objective of bringing the 
wealth of expertise and resources - available at local, national and the EU levels - together 
into  a  strengthened  EU  disaster  response  system.  It  focuses  on  the  delivery  of  relief 
assistance in the first emergency phase and on strengthening the EU instruments for civil 
protection and humanitarian assistance.  

•  The  Commission  will  seek  ways  to  enhance  the  availability  of  emergency  response 
capacities,  e.g.  by  requiring  that  emergency  response  equipment  be  available  in  each 
relevant  region  in  the  EU,  working  in  cooperation  with  the  industry  and  Member  States 
and building on existing instruments of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and EMSA.  

•  In  order  to  enhance  the  efficiency  of  emergency  responses  the  Commission  calls  on 
Member  States  to  take  actions  proposed  by  the  Commission  in  the  "Marine  Knowledge 
2020"  initiative  in  view  of  creating  a  coherent  and  open  architecture  for  sharing 
information on the state of the water column and sea bottom. 

5. 

NEW PARTNERSHIPS FOR OFFSHORE SAFETY ALSO OUTSIDE EUROPEAN WATERS 

5.1.  Neighbourhood regional initiatives as first circle of international action 

The EU needs to pay close attention to offshore areas adjacent to its territory where offshore 
drilling  is  growing  and  where  an  accident  with  any  consequent  oil  spill  could  damage  the 
environment and economies of several coastal Member States. 

In this context, the delimitation of Exclusive Economic Zones and of the continental shelf in 
accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) should be 
encouraged.  

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Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002. 

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In  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  a  large  part  of  the  marine  space  is  made  up  of  High  Seas  and 
cooperation between the authorities of riparian States needs to be reinforced.  

The  EU  should  therefore  seek  that  regulatory  frameworks  and  industry  supervision  in 
jurisdictions  neighbouring  European  waters  provide  equally  high  levels  of  safety  and 
protection.  There  is  a  good  example  of  the  benefits  from  regional  cooperation  between 
competent authorities in the North Sea23. 

The potential of regional conventions should be explored. This includes re-launching, in close 
cooperation  with  the  Member  States  concerned,  the  process  towards  bringing  into  force  the 
protocol  combating  pollution  from  offshore  activities  in  the  Mediterranean24.  This  would 
allow involving the already existing Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre 
for  the  Mediterranean  Sea  (REMPEC)  in  offshore  emergency  prevention,  preparedness  and 
response.  Bilateral  cooperation,  particularly  with  southern  Mediterranean  states  involved  in 
offshore  extraction  activities  can  also  be  enhanced,  notably  through  Action  Plans  and 
instruments under the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). 

Action with similar aims25 should also be undertaken through other regional sea conventions, 
such  as  OSPAR,  Helsinki  Convention  or  the  Bucharest  Convention26.  Regional  energy  co-
operation  programmes,  such  as  Inogate,  already  focus  on  safety  and  security  of  energy 
supplies  and  could  be  developed  to  foster  cooperation  on  offshore  activities.  The  Energy 
Community Treaty (ECT) should also be considered to address offshore safety actions in the 
waters of the relevant States.  

The  Arctic  equally  merits  specific  attention  due  to  its  particularly  sensitive  natural 
environment,  harsh  climate  and  significant  unexplored  hydrocarbon  reserves.  Binding 
international rules or benchmarks should be introduced, building inter alia on the guidelines 
of the Arctic Council27. Contacts with Arctic countries are essential in this regard.  

•  The Commission will intensify dialogues with EU neighbours on offshore safety, aiming at 
new common initiatives establishing emergency information channels, information sharing 
on exploration and production, promotion of high levels of safety and prevention, and joint 
enforcement measures such as inspections of installations.  

•  The Commission will  work  with Member States and relevant third  countries to stimulate 
the  creation  of  regional  fora/initiatives  of  competent  national  authorities  in  the 
Mediterranean, Black and Baltic Seas, building on the good example and know-how of the 
North  Sea  Offshore  Authorities  Forum.  It  will  also  consider  addressing  offshore  safety 
through  existing  bilateral  and  regional  co-operation  instruments  with  EU  applicants  and 
neighbours. 

•  The  Commission  will  also  promote  action  in  the  context  of  the  existing  conventions  and 

protocols. 

23 
24 

25 
26 

27 

North Sea Offshore Authorities Forum (NSOAF). 
Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution Resulting from Exploration and 
Exploitation of the Continental Shelf and the Seabed and its Subsoil. 
See Article 18 of the conclusions of the OSPAR Ministerial Conference of 23/24 September 2010. 
Convention  for  the  protection  of  the  marine  environment  in  the  North-East  Atlantic  (OSPAR), 
Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area (Helsinki Convention), 
Convention on the protection of the Black Sea against pollution (Bucharest Convention). 
Arctic Offshore Oil and Gas Guidelines 2009. 

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5.2.  European industry's international obligation 

European oil and gas companies often have increasing offshore operations outside Europe. It 
is  crucial  that  its  industry  commits  to  maintain  state  of  the  art  safety  and  environmental 
practices regardless of the jurisdiction where it operates, including outside the EU.  

One  option  is  to  introduce  obligations  on  industry  with  headquarters  in  the  EU  to  apply 
uniform offshore safety and environmental policies in all its operations worldwide. Failing to 
do so might lead regulators to withdraw operators' licences or specific permits. 

•  The Commission calls on the industry and Member States to adopt transparent and binding 
obligations  on  companies  with  headquarters  in  the  EU  to  follow  European  standards  of 
safety and accident prevention in all their operations worldwide.  

5.3.  Global responsibility 

Although the impact of offshore accidents knows no borders, the coverage and enforcement 
of international law governing prevention, emergency planning, and response is uneven and 
incomplete28.  For  example  a  convention  on  emergency  planning29  focuses  only  on  oil 
pollution from ships but not on offshore installations. Moreover, financial liability for oil and 
gas pollution from offshore installations is not covered by any international convention.  

The EU is well placed to take a key role in international efforts to strengthen existing rules 
globally.  It  needs,  however,  to  join  forces  with  its  partners,  starting  with  the  US  and  other 
important producers including Norway, Russia and OPEC. EU initiatives should build on the 
International Regulators Forum (IRF) but aim at broader participation30. 

The ultimate aim should be a global system fixing common targets or benchmarks of safety 
and  sustainability  in  offshore  exploration  and  production  that  would  serve  two  objectives: 
First, it should promote the adoption and implementation of strict rules on safety and accident 
prevention  in  all  jurisdictions  with  offshore  oil  and  gas  activities.  Second,  it  should  co-
regulators, 
ordinate  actions  and/or  develop 
standardisation  organisations,  industry,  certifying  companies  and  research  establishments  in 
view  of  maximum  possible  worldwide  compliance  with  UNCLOS  in  areas  beyond  national 
jurisdictions. 

targeting  administrations, 

joint  ones 

•  Existing  energy  partnerships  and  dialogues  with  EU's  international  partners  will  be 
leveraged  to  initiate  an  EU-driven  global  initiative  for  offshore  safety  and  to  agree  on 
general  terms  of  reference  of  such  global  action.  The  EU-OPEC  Ministerial  meeting  has 
already endorsed an initiative for a roundtable on offshore safety in 2011. The Commission 
will call for such a meeting in 2011 to agree on the main objectives and explore the targets 

28 

29 
30 

UNCLOS  foresees  the  obligation  for  states  to  protect  the  marine  environment  from  pollution,  to 
establish contingency plans and adopt laws and regulations to prevent, reduce and control pollution in 
areas within and beyond national jurisdiction. Nevertheless, compliance and enforcement mechanisms 
are  not  included  and  implementation  relies  on  the  good  will  of  states  and  of  bodies  such  as  sectoral 
organisations  and  regional  seas  conventions.  This  accounts  for  major  differences  in  compliance  with 
these obligations, including in European waters. 
International Convention on Oil Pollution (OPRC). 
The IRF members include Brazil, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, UK and United States. 

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and benchmarks for best practices and global standards. In addition the Commission will 
continue contributing to offshore initiatives in the framework of G-20.  

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6. 

CONCLUSIONS AND NEXT STEPS 

The  review  conducted  in  the  aftermath  of  the  Deepwater  Horizon  accident  has  shown  that 
offshore oil and gas activities in the EU are partly governed by a heterogeneous health, safety 
and environmental regime. Such a fragmented regime may not provide an adequate response 
for the risks posed by the evolution of offshore oil and gas industrial activities. It leaves areas 
of  legal  uncertainty  with  regard  to  companies'  obligations  and  responsibilities  and  does  not 
allow using to the full extent opportunities offered by EU agencies and instruments.  

While  some  Member  States'  regulatory  regimes  feature  high  levels  of  accident  prevention 
through strict health, safety and environment protection requirements, further action is needed 
to  ensure  the  spread  of  such  best  practices  throughout  the  EU  by  a  clear  state-of-the-art 
framework at EU level, clarifying EU legislation and filling identified gaps. The EU has every 
interest  to  act  without  delay  and  ensure  that  offshore  operations  in  European  waters  and 
world-wide  comply  with  the  strictest  levels  of  safety,  accident  prevention  and  response, 
without compromise or inconsistency. 

The  Commission  invites  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  to  support  the  course  of 
action  outlined  in  this  Communication  and  express  their  views  on  the  specific  actions 
proposed. The Commission will hold further consultations with national regulators and other 
stakeholders on the scope of the proposed initiatives in view of tabling proposals for concrete 
legislative  and/or  non-legislative  measures  before  summer  2011.  Any  relevant  lessons 
emerging from the inquiries into the Deepwater Horizon accident will be taken into account in 
the process.  

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