International law on offshore decommissioning in Southeast Asia

Offshore Decommissioning Training Workshop Asia Pacific

InterContinental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur 31st October-1st November 2013

Youna Lyons

Senior Research Fellow, Centre for International Law

Outline

I. Definitions and scope

II. Relevance of maritime zones

III. The legal landscape

IV. Extent of the obligation of removal

V. International rules on dumping

VI. Obligation of due regard

VII.Conclusion

www.cil.nus.sg

I- Definitions and scoping

www.cil.nus.sg

• Decommissioning is not a legal term of art: removal vs. abandonment and dumping

• UNCLOS applies to any installation or structure which is abandoned or disused, including subsea structures

• Disposal at sea is dumping and requires a permit

• Pipelines are not expressly mentioned in this context and excluded from 1996 LP

• Well capping/abandonment left to domestic law and industry

• Drill cuttings and debris left around the installations are not mentioned (no clear best practice)

II- Maritime Zones around the SCS

www.cil.nus.sg US Department of State

II- > 20 years old installations: where?

www.cil.nus.sg

Coastal States

Installations > 30 years Installations 20-30 years Total per country

Maritime zone

TS/Archipelagic waters

EEZ

TS/Archipelagic waters

EEZ

Indonesia 169 0 170 17 356

Malaysia 63 (15) 47 45 (8) 54 209

Brunei 74 (48) 13 55 (19) 4 146

Thailand 0 16 0 64 80

Philippines 0 6 0 0 6

Vietnam 0 0 0 12 12

China 1 23 24

Sub-total 306 83 270 174

Grand total 389 444 833 Values must be considered as indicative only due to known discrepancies between sources - Compiled from

OPL World Offshore Field Development Guide Database, Vol 2: Asia, India, Australasia & Far East, 2010

III- International legal landscape

www.cil.nus.sg

Shipping Constitution for the Ocean

(1982 Law of the Sea Conv.)

Protection of the Marine Environment

1989 IMO Guidelines on Removal of Offshore Installations

1972 London Convention on Dumping

1996 London Protocol

2000 and 2009 Guidelines on the Placement of Artificial Reefs

Art. 60, 208 & 214

Art. 210 & 216

Art. 194(5) & 237

1992 UN Convention on Biological Diversity

COP – Ecologically and Biologically Sensitive Areas (EBSAs)

1975 Convention on Migratory Species (e.g. sea turtles)

1973 Convention on the Protection of Wetlands

Endangered species in CITES Art. 194(5)

1973/78 MARPOL Conv.(Annexes I, II and V)

Art. 208 & 214

IV- Extent of the obligation of removal in the Exclusive Economic Zone

www.cil.nus.sg

Art. 60 (3) UNCLOS

Installations shall be removed to ensure safety of navigation, taking into account accepted international standards, fisheries and environment. If left in place, obligation to give adequate publicity

1989 IMO Guidelines

Fixed platforms < 75m deep and 4000t are under more stringent removal rules

Must be removed unless impossible, too costly or too dangerous

Removal also required if on customary traffic lanes

However, these rules don’t apply if the platform or a part of it serves a new use

Location and profile: where 1/5 Bathymetry

Etopo 5 data – Courtesy of TMSI - NUS

IV- Extent of the obligation of removal in all maritime zones

Duty to protect rare or fragile ecosystems and the habitat of depleted, threatened or endangered species

Increased diligence standard in transboundary areas

Art. 194(5)

Adopt laws and regs to prevent and control pollution from activities arising from or in connection with seabed activities

Laws must be no less effective than international rules and standards

Obligation to endeavour to harmonize policies and adopt regional rules and standards

Art. 208 LOS

Transboundary areas

Obligation to take appropriate measures to prevent or minimize as far as possible the risk of significant harm

www.cil.nus.sg

Not an obligation of removal but one of adopting regulation Need for an EIA-type process including proper scrutiny

IV- Extent of the obligation of removal in all maritime zones

V- International Rules on Dumping

www.cil.nus.sg

Placement at sea for disposal is dumping

Art.210: as effective as global rules and standards

1972 London Convention on Dumping has only been ratified by the Philippines

BUT it is a recognised global standard

It sets a minimum standard of due diligence and imposes that coastal States and flag States adopt rules: case-by-case assessment of the environmental risk, of dumping site characteristics, of land-based methods of treatment and of the impacts on other uses.

VI- Obligation of due regard

Fisheries and other uses …

Safety of navigation in archipelagic sea-lane passage or routes normally used for international navigation

Will depend on traffic and magnitude of risk of interference

Navigation

VI- Obligation of due regard

Shipping traffic in the seas of Southeast Asia (National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis from UC Santa Barbara)

VI- Obligation of due regard

VI- Obligation of due regard

VII. Conclusion: Regional perspective

• No specific regulations on well-capping and abandonment nor

pipeline abandonment or disposal

• Fragmented rules from IMO, London Convention, MARPOL,

etc.

• Interference with safety of navigations and conflict with other

uses need to be assessed, especially in the EEZ

• Coastal States and flag States have an obligation to adopt

regulations on dumping and the treatment of offshore platforms

• They also have an obligation of due diligence

www.cil.nus.sg

Sou

rce:

Ce

nsu

s o

f M

arin

e Li

fe:

h

ttp

://w

ww

.co

mlm

aps.

org

/ext

ra/n

gs/O

cean

_Lif

e_D

iver

sity

_Dis

trib

uti

on

-30

0d

pi.

pd

f

Thank you!

Questions?