Greenpeace Mexico Discovers Abandoned Platforms on Coast of Toba

["Greenbase" <greenbas@gb.greenpeace.org>]

GREENPEACE MEXICO DISCOVERS ABANDONED PLATFORMS ON THE COAST OF
THE STATE OF TABASCO

 Campo Arjona. Tabasco.- The Rainbow Warrior today discovered in
front  of the coast of the state of Tabasco four abandoned oil
platforms of  PEMEX, the Mexican government owned oil company;
after 20 years of  abandonment, these platforms  continue to
spill oil into the sea.

 At the beginning of the working tour in the Gulf of Mexico
called THE  OIL TRAIL, the Rainbow Warrior arrived at  8 o'clock
on the morning  today in the oil field called Campo Arjona,
Tabasco. In three zodiacs  the activists arrived at one of the
platforms and climbed up the  structure  40 meters high.

 As a silent witness of the abandonment of the platforms since
20  years ago, the activists of GREENPEACE found rusted barrels,
scrap of  metals, PVC, wood and wires. "The structure is falling
down slowly  due to the corrosion and there are intermitent oil
spills" said the  fisherman that were fishing near the platform.

 At another platform, GREENPEACE picked up some samples of the
oil  that flows from the broken pipeline.

 On a previous visit of GREENPEACE in Campo Arjona, made on last 
February, the organization inspected a nearby  zone of
approximately  25 acres, that was used as a center for  storage
and distribution of  the oil extracted at the platforms and  is
almost covered now with  oil.

 These are the trails that PEMEX has left on its way. On the sea 
 abandoned platforms since 20 years ago in spite of  the
existence  since 1958 of international conventions where it was
agreed that  these installations would be removed. And on land
hundreds of acres  polluted by the oil industry wastes",
declared firmly Alejandro  Calvillo, Climate Change Campaigner
of GREENPEACE Mexico. Calvillo  added that "This problem
represents a  serious threat, because the  major amount of  oil
extracted in Mexico comes from  the continental  shelf, and if
this kind of wrong-doing activities continue, the Gulf  of
Mexico will be a desert sea with abandoned installations, which 
will pose risks for the navigation and will destroy the
sustaining  activities of the fishing communities".

Up to when will the Mexican environmental authorities allow this
situation to go on? What has happened with the obligation of the
government owned oil company to prevent, correct and restore the
environmental impacts of its activities, as it is established by
the law?  It is obvious that PEMEX is more interested in
spending  millions of dollars in publicity for "green wash" than
in investing in activities that could protect the environment
and the local communities. 

 THE OIL TRAIL has began today, and will continue until April
7th, and  the purpose of this tour is to bear witness of  the
environmental  effects of the oil industry in the states of
Tabasco and Campeche.

For more information :

Internet: http //www.greenpeace.org

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.  These does not  means that
platforms  are simply  abandoned on the seat 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