Environment Report 2014

7.2 Oil Spill Response Forum

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The Oil Spill Response Forum and its technical groups provide opportunities for members to be at the heart of developing and maintaining an effective, robust and sustainable oil spill response capability for upstream operations on the UKCS. The Oil Spill Response Forum was created to continue the work of the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Group (OSPRAG); a group established to co-ordinate the UK’s response to the issues arising from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico.

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The objectives and main areas of work of the two technical groups that support the Oil Spill Response Forum are described below:

• The Oil Spill Response Technical Group was established to facilitate the development and maintenance of an effective, robust and sustainable oil spill response capability for upstream operations on the UKCS. This year the group has focused on the Regional Waste Framework and development of an oil spill response toolkit, monitoring and assessment guidelines, and a desktop exercise to trial the guidelines. • The Environmental Sensitivities Technical Group was established to work on environmental sensitivities associated with oil spills on the UKCS. In 2014, it has focused on the seabirds at sea study and coastal sensitivity mapping for the Scottish coastline. A workshop was held in October to proactively review the UK’s response to wildlife during an oil spill. 7.3 Decommissioning Forum and Decommissioning Sub-Committee The Decommissioning Forum was launched in 2012 to provide an opportunity for members to engage with Oil & Gas UK on decommissioning issues. The group looks at regulatory, operational implementation issues, the decommissioning market and stakeholder engagement. The Decommissioning Sub-committee was established on 31 March 2014. The main objectives are to provide strategic direction and oversight of Oil & Gas UK’s activities related to decommissioning. This includes responding to the actions outlined in the joint industry-government Industrial Strategy launched in March 2013 and to ensure that the industry is prepared and ready to participate in the new industry/regulator Decommissioning Forum as envisaged in the Wood Review 31 . The objectives and main areas of work in the technical groups that support the sub-committee are described below: • The Decommissioning Operators Technical Group is focused on the decommissioning challenges around scope and timing and has been helping to develop regulatory, commercial and technical proposals to bring about cost effectiveness in decommissioning. • The Decommissioning Environmental Issues Group aims to promote a consistent approach to decommissioning environmental issues. Thegrouphas beendeveloping guidelines on comparativeassessment for decommissioning programmes and drafted the industry paper on the impact of drill cuttings for the OSPAR Offshore Industry Committee in March 2014. • The Decommissioning Industry Technical Group shares knowledge and experience around efficient execution of decommissioning and has been working on developing late-life maintenance strategies, stimulating innovation in decommissioning and contractual arrangements for removal projects.

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31 The Wood Report is available to download at www.woodreview.co.uk

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