Activities of Peter SKINNER related to 2011/2072(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on facing the challenges of the safety of offshore oil and gas activities PDF (317 KB) DOC (218 KB)
Amendments (57)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)
Citation 12 a (new)
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas Article 194 of TFEU specifically upholds a Member State's right to determine the conditions for exploiting its energy resources, whilst also upholding regard for solidarity and environmental protection,
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas Article 191 of the TFEU enshrines that Union environmental policy shall aim at a high level of protection and be based on the precautionary principle and on the principles that preventive action should be taken, that environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source and that the polluter should pay,
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas indigenous sources of oil and gas contribute significantly to Europe's current energy needs and are crucial at present for our energy security and energy diversity,
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has demonstrated the potentially devastating environmental and human consequences of oil exploitation in extreme environments, and the enormous economic costs associated with such environmental impacts,
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas that the effects of an accident could be transboundary in nature and therefore justify a pre-prepared EU pollution response capacity, which takes into account accidents outside EU waters,
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C f (new)
Recital C f (new)
Cf. whereas evidence suggests that separating the licensing process from health and safety assessments can avoid any potential conflicts of interest, or a confusion of goals,
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C g (new)
Recital C g (new)
Cg. whereas national regulators must assess financial viability and capability prior to awarding a license and final drilling consent, ensuring sufficient funds exist, including through third-party insurance and communal funds,
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C h (new)
Recital C h (new)
Ch. whereas various international fora already exist where regulators can exchange best-practice, including the NSOAF1,
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C i (new)
Recital C i (new)
Ci. whereas the European Commission, on behalf of the EU, is already a contracting party to OSPAR2, a Regional Convention to protect the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic,
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C j (new)
Recital C j (new)
Cj. whereas there are existing mechanisms for incident reporting, including, inter alia, OSPAR's annual discharges, spills and emissions report, and non-regulatory channels can be used to disseminate lessons learnt from such incidents, for example, NSOAF's 'safety bulletins',
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C k (new)
Recital C k (new)
Ck. whereas numerous existing agreements already elaborate procedures for international response to spills of international significance, such as the OCES agreement1,
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C l (new)
Recital C l (new)
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C m (new)
Recital C m (new)
Cm. whereas the European Maritime Safety Agency already provides technical assistance to the European Commission in the development and implementation of EU legislation on maritime safety and has been given operational tasks in the field of oil pollution response, satellite monitoring and in the long range identification and tracking of vessels,
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C n (new)
Recital C n (new)
Cn. whereas there is already an extensive body of international law and international conventions which govern the seas, including European waters,
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C o (new)
Recital C o (new)
Co. whereas the responsibility for the clean-up of any oil spill and the liability for damages is based on Article 191 TFEU which establishes the polluter-pays principle and is reflected in secondary legislation such as the Environmental Liability Directive (ELD) and the Waste Directive,
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C p (new)
Recital C p (new)
Cp. whereas a voluntary oil pollution compensation scheme already exists in the North Sea,
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. EmphasisAcknowledges that issuing licences and other approvals for the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbon resources is a Member State prerogative,; and that any suspension of activities is at the discretion of the Member State concerned; stresses however that licensing procedures must conform to a certain common EU criteria and highlights that Member States should apply the precautionary principle when issuing approvals for the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbon resources;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Insists, therefore, that the introduction of an EU-wide moratorium on all new deep sea oil drilling in EU waters would be a disproportionate reaction to the need to secure high safety standards across the EU;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that each Member State's' legislative and regulatory regime should adopt a ‘safety case’ approachmust ensure all operators submit a risk-based, site specific 'safety case' requiring them to demonstrate fully to their relevant national health, safety and environmental authorities that all site-specific, and other, risks have been considered and controls implemented for each installation;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls for all safety cases to become a living and evolving document so that material technical or equipment changes are subject to approval from the relevant competent authority, and all safety cases should be reviewed at least every five years including by the independent regulators; stresses that all on-site procedures and equipment available to deal with possible blow-outs must be included in the safety case;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. BAcknowledges that there already exists a network of regimes and best practices and believes that a single new piece of specific EU legislation may risk destabilising the current network of regimes, moving them away from the proven safety case approach and must not seek to duplicate or compromise existing best practice;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Supports the Commission's desire to level -up minimum standards within the EU; believes that safety and environmental concerns should be eimbedded in all legislation and the highest safety and environmental standards be applied in all areas of offshore oil and gas activities;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. StressesWarns however that the effectiveness of legislation ultimately depends on the competence of the relevant nationalEuropean and national authorities and bodies to implement, manage and enforce relevant legislation; believes the Commission should be vigilant in ensuring compliance by Member State authorities;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses the importance of regular, varied, and rigorous inspections carried out by independent and trained specialists acquainted with local conditions; notes that resources are finite when it comes to experienced inspectors; notbelieves that an operator'’s inspection regimes must also be subject to third-party verification; supports the efforts already undertaken by certain Member States to increase the number of rigorous inspections;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Notes that resources are finite regarding experienced inspectors and calls for further investment to develop a more qualified inspection network across Member States; calls on the Commission to examine ways they can help Member States develop their own inspectorates;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b Any potential extension of EU product legislation to equipment on offshore installations should acknowledge the high rate of technological progress, overly prescriptive specifications can fast become redundant; however all equipment used on offshore installations must conform to all EU standards as laid down in existing and future legislation governing the use of industrial machinery and chemicals, such as 2003/105/EC and directive 2006/42/EC where applicable;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Is concerned that an EU-level ‘'controller of controllers’ will' may not bring sufficient added -value to justify draining scarce regulatory resources from national competent national authorities; however gathering data, sharing best practices and coordinating response resources should be done at an EU level;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new) (after subheading 2)
Paragraph 9 a (new) (after subheading 2)
9a. Welcomes the Commission's initiative to establish joint EU/NSOAF meetings as an opportunity to exchange best practices across the community; stresses that these meetings should be valued by the participants;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. BStresses the importance of regional initiatives as a first tier of multilateral action and believes that forumsa akin to the NSOAF in the North Sea should be established for Member States around the Mediterranean, Baltic and Black Seas; to oversee the adoption and enforcement of minimum standards of health and safety; in this regard welcomes the Commission's initiative to establish the Mediterranean Offshore Authorities Forum (MOAF) and encourages the participation of non-EU countries;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Recognises the variety of conditions of different sea areas but believes there should be inter-fora coordination between regional initiatives, where appropriate, to ensure best practice at an EU level; stresses that the Commission should play an active role within these fora;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Welcomes the decision by the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers to establish the Global Industry Response Group (GIRG) in the aftermath of the Gulf of Mexico disaster; urges them to work transparently when sharing information and working with authorities;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. RecognisUnderlines the safety benefits generated byfrom workforce engagement programmes; advocates strong links, and joint initiatives, between industry, the workforce, and national competent national authorities in the fields of health, safety and environmental protection;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Calls on industry to follow best practice on safety representatives as is the case in Norway where safety committees should be able to elect a safety representative who is involved in safety issues at all levels of operation and decision-making process;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on thenational competent national authorities to collate and share information from incident- reporting information –, with due regard for commercial sensitivities –, so that lessons can be learnedt; this information should be shared as promptly as feasible after an incident has occurred and include, inter alia, personnel incidents, machinery failure, hydrocarbon releases and other incidents of concern;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Recognises that consolidation and extra coordination of existing practices and incident-reporting could help to ensure transparency and consistency across the EU; welcomes international initiatives, including the G20 working group, to assist at the global level to ensure widespread knowledge of incident and any necessary remedial action;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Urges the Commission to work with partners and neighbours to achieve a special regime for any operations in the Arctic having careful regard as to the sustainability and necessity of offshore activities in such a vulnerable and unique environment;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Recommends that licensing and health and safety functions should be separated in all the Member States; believes that the Commission should work with Member States to establish common, transparent and objective licensing criteria ensuring that licensing and health and safety functions are separated, to reduce the risk of a conflict of interest;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Believes that during licensing it is crucial to ensure that the highest level of safety and environmental protection is respected during and after the end of operations and in this regard pay due attention to the need to adequately decommission end of life installations and pipeline infrastructures, recycling the materials as far as possible;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Notes that a significant number of installations in EU waters are ageing; welcomes attempts to improve the asset integrity of existing platforms;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Advocates the use of site-specific contingency plans that: identify hazards,; assess potential pollution sources and effects and; outline a response strategy, along withnd outline drilling plans for potential relief wells; maintainrecommends that operators should submit their contingency plans at least two2 months before the start of operations, and that, in the case of; for complex wells, or challenging drill conditions, the contingency plan should be assessed, put out for consultationed and approved contemporaneously with other regulatory approval processes (linked to thee.g. those related to environmental impacts or well -design, for example); takes the view that, i). In all cases, operations must not commence until a contingency plan has been approved; maintains that, with due regard for data protection, contingency plans should be published by the national competent national authority with due regard for data protection;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Recommends that more emphasis should be placed on systematic training, particularly on the practical application of disaster response equipment;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Member States to draft, amend, or update n, National cContingency pPlans detailing command channels and mechanisms for the deployment ofto deploy national assets alongside industry resources, in the event of a spill; these should be transmitted to EMSA;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Suggests that the EMSA's inventories of response resources should also collate all relevant public and industry resources; adequate resources must be available in each EU sea area so that EMSA is best placed to provide a coordinating role, where necessary, in the event of a major incident;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)
Paragraph 21 b (new)
21b. Urges companies to continue to set aside funds for research and development of new prevention and accident remediation technologies; stresses that before any disaster response technologies are added to an approved contingency plan they should be independently tested, assessed and authorised;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 c (new)
Paragraph 21 c (new)
21c. Advocates strict control and continued testing of chemical dispersants, to ensure both their suitability in the event of a spill and to avoid public health and environmental implications;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Recognises that industry bears the primary responsibility for reacting to disasters; w. Welcomes joint industry initiatives to develop, mobilise and deploy resources to counter oil spills; stresses that the public sector has an important role in the regulation, safety and coordination of a disaster response;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Stresses that each sea area must always have access to sufficient available equipment to deal with large, worst case scenario spills for the specific sea area, not just EU waters;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Urges the Member States, when considering the need forcessity of third-party insurance, to be carefulpay due attention not to price small- and medium-sized operators out of the market whilst ensuring that full liability coverage is maintained;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Calls forRecognises the merits of communal funds to be assessed and, if appropriate,such as OPOL in the North Sea and for such funds to be set upestablished in each EU sea area; calls for membership to be mandatory for operators, asnd ensure legal certainty so as to provide a safety -net mechanism designed to reassure the Member States, the maritime sector, in particular fishermen, and taxpayers;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Stresses that the voluntary nature of schemes such as OPOL limit their legal control and therefore believes that these funds would be strengthened by being a mandatory license requirement;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 b (new)
Paragraph 26 b (new)
26b. Believes that during the consent to drill to process, the licensee must prove their ability to pay, whether through financial guarantee schemes, third-party insurance, or other schemes, for damage caused to the marine environment (and coastal, where appropriate);
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 c (new)
Paragraph 26 c (new)
26c. Stresses that the financially liable parties should be established without ambiguity prior to drilling;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Recommends that the Member States consider adopting and strengthening disincentives for negligence, and non- compliance such as fines, withdrawal of licencses, and criminal liability for employees; points out, however, that such a regime existed in the USA prior to the Deepwater Horizon spill;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Urges the industry to employ uniformly high -standards, wherever in the world theycompanies are operating; is sceptical as to whether a requirement forthat mandating EU-based companies to operate globally according to EU standards is enforceable but calls on the Commission to examine what mechanisms might be appropriate to ensure that EU-based companies to operate globally according to EUhighest standards is enforceable; believes corporate responsibility should also be a key driver in this area and that Member State licensing regimes could take global incidents involving companies into consideration when awarding licenses, provided these incidents are accompanied by thorough reviews;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33a. Stresses the importance of bringing fully into force the un-ratified 1994 Mediterranean Offshore Protocol, targeting the protection against pollution resulting from exploration and exploitation;