Environmental Law The offshore oil and gas industry is complex in its rules and regulations

There are many different regulatory bodies that have some control over the industry, and they do not always work together as well as they should. This can become a serious issue for companies that are interested in oil and gas production, because they can have trouble keeping all the regulations straight. With UNCLOS, MARPOL, OSPAR, and the EU all offering regulations and requirements, it becomes very difficult for companies who work with oil and gas to be clear on the requirements

Unfortunately, that can lead them to make mistakes, to misunderstand rules, and to ignore or avoid other regulations because they seem too complicated or they are not sure if they are even applicable. That can get a company into serious trouble, so it is very important that these companies focus in on how to handle the regulations with which they must deal.

UNCLOS

UNCLOS, or the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an international agreement that was created and came into play in 1994

. It defined the responsibilities that nations had when it comes to the oceans, and also addressed the rights of those nations

. There were guidelines created by the treaty that related to the environment, as well as to natural resources and marine life, and the way businesses had to handle their affairs on and around the world's oceans

. There were originally four treaties for these issues, dating back to 1958

. Once UNCLOS became the law, though, those treaties were replaced

There were 165 countries as well as the European Union that had joined the convention as of August of 2013, but it still is not clear as to what extent the convention actually creates an international law

. In other words, those who are trying to abide by UNCLOS are not sure that they have to, and there are many discrepancies that are still up in the air

. Since there are few definitive answers a number of people who work on and around the ocean, including many businesses in the oil and gas industry, simply ignore UNCLOS or choose to follow a different type of treaty or law

. Naturally, that is a serious concern because it does not allow UNCLOS to be enforced properly and it conflicts with a number of other treaties and regulations that have been made regarding the world's oceans

There is also the issue that not all of the world's countries have agreed to UNCLOS, so there is a question as to how it can be enforced when not every country has signed it

. Whether that makes those countries exempt from it or only makes people using those countries' waterways exempt is part of the argument

. The oil and gas industry is not interested in playing games or splitting hairs about which regulations are accurate and for what region, country, or area of the ocean

. It is clear that UNCLOS is confusing, and that is not the only issue. In addition to the confusion over this particular treaty, there are a number of other treaties, rules, laws, and regulations that are also allegedly related to the oceans.

Many of these conflict with UNCLOS, so determining which to follow is becoming increasingly difficult

. UNCLOS replaces a concept from the 17th Century whereby a nation had rights to the waters within three miles of its coastline

. All of the waters that were beyond that distance were considered to be international, and they did not belong to any nation

. They were free to be used by any of the nations of the world

. However, early in the 20th Century nations began to express their interest in extending their claims

. They wanted to protect fish, enforce controls over pollution, and gain rights to minerals and other valuable assets -- including oil and gas reserves

. The United States used its continental shelf as a logical distance point for national waters, and other nations quickly extended theirs, as well

Some went out 200 nautical miles, while others extended only 12 nautical miles

. However, that made things very complicated because each country had a different -- and often quite arbitrary -- distance that belonged to its national waters. Because of that, oil and gas companies and others...

It seemed as though there should have been a limit for all countries, but that often did not turn out to be the case. UNCLOS helped to set limits for various types of waters, in order to make sure everyone was equal
. These included internal waters, territorial waters, and exclusive economic zones (EEZs)

. The continental shelf was also very important, as it (and the EEZs) extended out the furthest, at 200 nautical miles

UNCLOS also created obligations that required companies to safeguard the environment around them and protect the natural marine resources in that location

. The treaty has been through several changes since it was created, in an effort to make it clear, concise, and appropriate for all countries. However, there are many countries -- including the United States -- that have issues with at least one part of the treaty and have decided not to ratify it until and unless it is changed

. Countries that have not ratified the treaty may agree to follow parts of it, but may ignore other parts

. In that sense, it is hard to state that UNCLOS is actually any kind of law, since several countries do not follow it

MARPOL

MARPOL is short for "marine pollution" and deals with any kind of pollution that comes from ships. It came into force in October of 1983, after being signed in 1973 but not ratified at that time by enough countries to bring it into force

. It is a very important environmental convention when it comes to marine pollution. The goal of it was to minimize how much pollution went into the sea, including oil, exhaust, and dumping

. This was particularly important to the oil and gas industry, since they were at risk of polluting when things went wrong with their operations

. Naturally, some of the requirements to stop them from polluting also forced them to make changes that could cost more and adversely affect their bottom line, so that was an important issue to address, as well

Minimizing not just deliberate pollution but accidental pollution is a large part of MARPOL

. Over 99% of the participants in the world's shipping are parties to MARPOL as of May of 2013. Ships that belong to countries that have agreed to MARPOL have to follow its requirements

. It does not matter if they sail from ports that are not in those countries, as long as they are flagged in those countries

. It may not seem that relevant to oil and gas companies, because MARPOL deals specifically with ships. However, when oil and gas are discovered and removed from the ground under the ocean, there are several ways of transporting it. There are many pipelines, but there are also tankers and other large ships that have to transport the oil and gas that are discovered

. These ships can fall under MARPOL regulations, but only if they belong to a country that has agreed to the treaty

Since there are some countries that have not agreed, if an oil and gas company wanted to skirt those rules it would simply flag its ships through that country. While this may not go over well with customers, it would be a viable and legal option for that company to explore

. MARPOL regulations and UNCLOS regulations are not the same, of course, but they have a similar goal -- to make sure that the oceans and waterways of the world are not polluted and damaged by companies that use them. It would seem logical to make these two treaties into one, instead of having both and attempting to reconcile them. Some countries belong to both, some to neither, and some to one or the other. In that sense, there are several sets of rules and not everyone is required to follow them

OSPAR

In addition to UNCLOS and MARPOL, there is also OSPAR, which is a North-East Atlantic convention designed to protect the marine environment

. It is a combination and update of the 1974 Paris Convention and the 1972 Oslo Convention, which were focused on land-based sources of water pollution and waste dumping at sea, respectively

. The OSPAR Commission carries out the work of the convention, and is made up of government representatives of 15 nations who are signatories to OSPAR

. There are also representatives from the European Union

. OSPAR was created in 1992 in Paris

Again, however, only some countries have ratified this while other countries have only agreed with part of it or have ignored it altogether. It was entered into force in March of 1998

. There were many concerns on the quality of the marine environment in the Atlantic and the North Sea, which are now regulated by OSPAR

. The offshore oil and gas industry falls…