1. Energy from the Sea An International Law Perspective on Ocean Energy Utrecht, 19-20 February 2014 The Increasing Role of Private Actors in the Offshore Energy Industry Dr. Seline Trevisanut Utrecht University

2. Outline Who are the Private Actors in the Offshore Energy Industry The International Obligations Which Bind the Private Actors The Shifting Model of Participation

3. Who are The Private Actors in the Offshore Energy Industry? Licensees Operators Contractors Industry Promoters Professional associations Certification authorities Insurance Companies

4. EU directive 2013/30 on safety of offshore oil and gas operations Preamble, para. 36 Best global practice requires licensees, operators and owners to take primary responsibility for controlling the risks they create by their operations, including operations conducted by contractors on their behalf and therefore to establish within a corporate major accident prevention policy the mechanisms and highest level of corporate ownership to implement that policy consistently

5. Art. 2 Definitions Operator: entity appointed by the licensee or licensing authority to conduct offshore oil and gas operations, including planning and executing a well operation or managing and controlling the functions of a production installation Art. 1(g)(ii) Barcelona Conv. Offshore Prot. Any person who does not hold an authorization within the meaning of this protocol but is de facto in control of such activities Licensee: holder or join holders of a license Contractor: entity contracted by the operator or owner to perform specific tasks on behalf of the operator or owner

6. Owner: an entity legally entitled to control the operation of a non-production installation Industry: entities that are directly involved in offshore oil and gas operations covered by the directive or whose activities are closely related to those operations Public: one or more entities and, in accordance with national legislations or practice, their associations, organizations or groups Promoter > 2008 OSPAR Guidance on Environmental Consideration for Offshore Wind Farm Development

7. The International Obligations Which Bind the Private Actors Procedural obligation of impact assessment The obligation to guarantee the safety of the project EU Dir. 2013/30 Art. 15 Offshore Prot. Monitoring and reporting obligations Liability Issues Extra-territoriality of the obligations

8. Extra-territoriality (…) to establish within a corporate major accident prevention policy the mechanisms and highest level of corporate ownership to implement that policy consistently throughout the organisation in the Union and outside of the Union Art. 20 Offshore oil and gas operations conducted outside the Union MS shall require companies registered in their territory and conducting, themselves or through subsidiaries, offshore oil and gas operations outside the Union, as licence holders or operators to report to them, on request, the circumstances of any major accident in which they have been involved

9. The Shifting Model of Participation The impact of international environmental law on the offshore energy sector Offshore energy in context A business-led sector Self regulation / co-regulation (BP National Commission, SW Paper No. 9) Annex VI EU Dir. 2013/30

10. M. M. Mbengue (2011) – Models of Participation Model of surveillance: ‘non-state actors participate in the ‘sustainable development contract’ by adhering or subscribing to rules and principles of treaty law or of customary international law, that is rules and principles generated by states and international organizations’ E.g. UN Global Compact > implementation framework Model of transparency: ‘non-state actors contribute primarily to the definition of the issues that should be dealt with at the international level, even if the last word in terms of policy orientations might often belong to states or to international organisations’

11. Are we already moving towards a ‘model of mutuality’? i.e. public-private partnership Ex. World Bank-WWF Alliance for Forest; Global Alliance for Vaccinations and Immunization ‘Rules and standards adopted by non-state actors can shape international environmental law and serve as the main referential within public-private partnerships’ ‘accepted rules and standards’ Best practices

12. Thank you for your attention! Questions?