Brussels, 13/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - Following the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon platform in the Gulf of Mexico which, in April 2010, caused the worst oil spillage in US history, the European Parliament (EP) wants site-specific impact assessments and plans for environmental and safety procedures as preconditions for all offshore oil and gas operations in the EU.
The report by Vicky Ford (ECR, UK), adopted by 41 votes to six, with no abstentions, in the EP energy committee on Wednesday 13 July, calls for site-specific contingency plans to be submitted and approved prior to any offshore drilling. This draft resolution was responding to the Commission consultation paper issued in October which recommended tougher rules but no ban on offshore drilling (see EUROPE 10235), and follows on from a resolution adopted by the EP in October on EU action in oil exploration and extraction in Europe (see EUROPE 10231).
The energy committee says that the very highest safety and environmental protection standards should apply in all areas of offshore oil and gas activities. All applications for drilling authorisation must be subject to independent verification and regular inspections carried out by independent and trained experts acquainted with local conditions. Environmental impact assessments should be carried out as a precondition for obtaining a licence, whilst a site-specific contingency plan - including potential hazards, pollution sources and effects and a response strategy for potential relief wells - should be submitted at least two months prior to the starting of any drilling. Operations should start only when this plan is approved by the national authorities.
MEPs say, too, that, in order to protect them from harassment, employees should be able to blow the whistle on security failures or hazards anonymously, call for the industry to put in place regular training programmes for employees and employers.
The energy committee says that prime responsibility for responding to disasters lies with the industry, based on the “polluter-pays” principle. However, the public sector must oversee the safety and coordination of any disaster response. The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) could coordinate responses in the event of an accident, while national contingency plans must be kept up to date and sufficient equipment must be available in or around every European sea to deal with large, worst-case scenario spills.
However, out goes the idea of a European energy regulator as MEPs doubt whether a European regulatory body for all offshore operations would bring added-value to justify “draining scarce regulatory resources” from national authorities.
Text does not go far enough for Greens. “This vote is a wasted opportunity to reassure EU citizens that industrial disasters, such as the one in the Gulf of Mexico, can be avoided in Europe”, regretted Michéle Rivasi (France), on behalf of the Greens Group. She argued that the Ford report did not devote enough attention to exploration and drilling in sensitive areas, close to national parks or in the Arctic. The Greens also regret the rejection by the committee of an EU-level independent monitoring mechanism. “External monitoring by an independent body of the balance of power between the industry and the member states is essential and could be done by EMSA (European Maritime Safety Agency). European-level monitoring should be complemented by a requirement on the industry to invest more heavily in developing accident prevention and resolution”, Rivasi said, regretting, too, that civil liability guaranteeing full cover of damage in the event of an accident was not clearly set out in the text.
Maria de Graça Carvalho (Portugal), speaking for the EPP, welcomed the inclusion of recommendations contained in the Ford report on extending the area of responsibility of EMSA putting in place monitoring and safety mechanisms and preventing ecological disasters related to offshore oil activities, and not creating a new agency which would lead to additional administrative costs.
The S&D Group highlights the information given by sector workers that could identify potential risks. “One lesson we learned from the disaster in the US is that licences for health and safety functions should be separate from the drilling”, said Peter Skinner (UK) in a press release.
A discordant voice was raised, however, in the Greens/EFA Group, when Scottish MEP Ian Hudghton welcomed the rejection of the proposal for a European Offshore Regulator. “If the European Commission wants to learn about first class safety and environmental standards in offshore drilling then they need look no further than Scotland's oil and gas industries. We have world class drilling facilities and a very highly skilled, safety focused, workforce”, he commented.
The Ford report will be put to the vote in plenary session in September. The European Commission will bring forward a legislative proposal in the autumn. (E.H./transl.rt)