Environmental statement - Flyndre and Cawdor - Maersk Oil

Flyndre and Cawdor Environmental Statement
Appendix A - Register of Environmental Legislation
Decommissioning
Issue Legislation Regulator and Requirements
Chemical use and
discharge
Preliminary
discussions
Decommissioning
proposals
Offshore Chemicals Regulations 2002 (as
amended 2011) (as amended by the Energy
Act 2009 (Consequential Modifications)
(Offshore Environmental Protection) Order
2010)
PON 15e
Petroleum Act 1998 (as amended by the
Energy Act 2008 and in accordance with
OSPAR Decision 98/3 )
IMO Guidelines and Standards for the
removal of offshore installations and
structures on the continental shelf 1989
DECC Guidance note for Industry
Decommissioning of Offshore Installations
and Pipelines 2009
Regulator: DECC
Under these Regulations, permits to use and discharge chemicals, including decommissioning chemicals, need to be obtained. Types
of permit required for the operations would be a PON15e for use and discharges of chemicals during decommissioning. The permits
are applied for using the application form found at https://www.og.decc.gov.uk/regulation/pons/index.htm and emailed to
Environmental Management Team at DECC. The application requires a description of the work carried out, a site specific
environmental impact assessment and a list of all the chemicals intended for use and/or discharge, along with a risk assessment for
the environmental effect of the discharge of chemicals into the sea. The permit obtained may include conditions.
Permits now extend to operational and non‐operational emissions of chemicals under the 2011 amendments and to carbon
sequestration activities under the Energy Act 2009 (Consequential Modifications) (Offshore Environmental Protection) Order 2010.
Regulator: DECC
OSPAR Decision 98/3 concerns the decommissioning of installations. It requires that decommissioning will normally remove the
whole of an installation, although there are some exceptions for large structures. However, currently, there are no international
guidelines for the decommissioning of pipelines.
Under the terms of the OSPAR Decision 98/3 there is a prohibition on dumping and leaving wholly or partly, in place of offshore
installations. All installations installed post 1999 should be removed entirely. For those installed pre 1999 the topsides must be
returned to shore and all installations with a jacket weight of less than 10,000 tonnes completely removed for re‐use, recycling or final
disposal on land with installations of greater than 10,000 tonnes being considered on an individual basis with the base case being that
they will be removed entirely.
The Petroleum Act 1998 sets out requirements for undertaking decommissioning of offshore installations and pipelines including
preparation and submission of a Decommissioning Programme. Decommissioning proposals for pipelines should be contained with a
separate Decommissioning Programme from that of installations. However, programmes for both pipelines and installations in the
same field may be submitted in one document.
Part III of the Energy Act 2008 amends Part 4 of the Petroleum Act 1998 and contains provisions to enable the Secretary of State to
make all relevant parties liable for the decommissioning of an installation or pipeline; provide powers to require decommissioning
security at any time during the life of the installation and powers to protect the funds put aside for decommissioning in case of
insolvency of the relevant party.
The Petroleum Act 1998 as amended stipulated that a decommissioning programme needs to be prepared and agreed with DECC.
The main stages of the decommissioning process are:
Stage 1 ‐ Preliminary discussions with DECC
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