INTERNATIONAL LEGISLATION ON THE DISPOSAL OF DISUSED OFFSHORE OIL PLATFORMS

I. International legislation:

Geneva Convention, 1958.- Four conventions were adopted at the Geneva Conference, among them the Convention on the Continental Sheff, which establishes that any installation built for the exploration and exploitation of natural resources on the continental shelf must be entirely removed in case it has been abandoned or disused.

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), 1982.- Art 60(3) establishes that

"...any installation or structure that is abandoned or disused will be dismantled ... this should be done taking into account the impact on fishing activities, the marine environment and the rights and obligations of other countries".

International Maritime Organization (IMO), 1989.- Under the 1989 IMO Guidelines and Standards for the Removal of Offshore Installations and Structures on the Continental Shelf, "abandoned or disused offshore installations on any continental shelf are required to be removed". Under special circumstances certain installations can be wholly or partially left in place provided that a series of conditions are met, such as due maintenance to prevent any structural failure.

II. Regional Legislation and Practices

Several of the must polluted regional seas in the world, such as the North Sea, the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Mexico, have been impacted by the activities of the petroleum industry. In each of these regions, legal agreements have been adopted or practices have been implemented to prevent the impacts of the abandonment of oil platforms.

North sea - In 1992, the signing parties of the Oslo and Paris Conventions (OSPAR) adopted a new and more effective convention to replace the former two: The Convention on the Environmental Protection of the North Atlantic, which will go into effect this year. On Appendix 3 it is established that "No offshore installation or pipeline can be dumped or left wholly or partially on seat without the permission of the legal representants of the contracting parties on a case by case basis. To obtain a permit, all parties that have signed the Convention have to be consulted. At the Fourth International Conference for the Protection of the North Sea, the ministries agreed that "decommissioned offshore installations shall either be reused or be disposed on land", and recommended the implementation of this agreement in OSPAR. Parties of the OSPAR Convention adopted in 1995 the Oslo Commission decision which agrees "on a moratorium on the disposal at sea of decommissioned offshore installations".

Mediterranean Sea - In 1976 the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea Against Pollution went into effect. In 1991, within the Convention's framework, a protocol was created for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against the Pollution Generated by the Exploitation and Exploration of the Continental Shelf, the Sea Bed and Underneath Layers. Article 20 states that:

"The competent government must urge the operator to remove any installation that has been abandoned or disused, to ensure navigation safety."

Gulf of Mexico - The largest number of disused petroleum platforms have been removed form the Gulf of Mexico. Since 1987, 914 platforms have been dismantled by American companies. The depth of the sea in this region facilitates this type of operation, so it is considered a feasible option. US federal laws demand that all such structures be removed. Some areas within the Gulf have been designated for the deposition of cleaned structural parts of the platforms to promote the formation of artificial reefs. This does not mean that platforms are simply abandoned on the seabed and left to rot.

III. Mexican legislation on soil pollution.

Article 134.V. of the Law for Environmental Protection, establishes that

" Necessary actions must be carried out restore all soils polluted by dangerous materials or residues, in order to make them available for in any type of activity foreseen by the urban development or land use program".

Conclusion:

Mexican state owned oil company, PEMEX, practices the abandonment of its offshore installations in the Gulf of Mexico. PEMEX does not comply with the international agreements and recommendations related to installations on the continental shelf, nor with the national legislation regarding soil pollution.