Battle looms over oil rig disposals

Date: 16/07/1998

By Simon Coss

THE UK will come under pressure from both the European Commission and other EU member states next week to toughen its stance on the dumping of disused oil platforms at sea.

Signatory states to the OSPAR convention, a wide-ranging deal designed to cut pollution in the north east Atlantic, are expected to agree a ban on ocean dumping when they meet in the Portuguese city of Sintra.

They are, however, likely to list a number of platforms which can be exempted. It is on the size of this list that London, backed up by non-EU member state Norway, disagrees with other OSPAR signatories.

Platforms which could be considered for exemption fall into two broad categories: installations made predominantly of concrete and steel-built structures.

All sides agree that ocean dumping is probably the only realistic option for disposing of concrete rigs. "We all accept concrete can stay because some of these installations weigh up to 1 million tonnes," explained Simon Reddy of environmental campaigners Greenpeace.

A far more heated debate is raging over steel platforms, with London and Oslo anxious to maintain the option of dumping their biggest installations at sea.

The UK and Norway are by far the two largest operators of oil platforms in the North Sea and dismantling all rigs onshore would mean significant costs for their industries. The UK also gives significant tax exemptions to firms for disposing of platforms, making the onshore option look even more expensive.

The Commission has already called for oil rigs to be dismantled onshore in all but a very limited number of cases and officials say Environment Commissioner Ritt Bjerregaard will reiterate this message in Portugal.

They argue that although OSPAR signatories are not bound by any measures they vote against, it will nevertheless be in the interest of the UK and Norway to tone down their demands for exemptions.

Following the furore over Shell's plans (eventually abandoned) to dispose of its Brent Spar platform at sea, there has been a moratorium on dumping oil installations in the oceans since 1995. This would remain in place if no deal were struck in Sintra.

The Commission also argues that if the OSPAR meeting adopts another of its suggestions and makes it clear that the firms which own oil rigs are liable for damage caused to fishing boats, submarines and other vessels by parts remaining on the sea bed, then the onshore option looks even less expensive.

"If you include insurance costs, which would be an annual expenditure, then the economic arguments for leaving them out there become very weak," said one expert.

Reports of a meeting of the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the North East Atlantic Marine Environment, Sintra, 22-23.7.98