ADRIATIC MARITIME LAW CONFERENCE MARINE POLLUTION FROM Portorož, 26-28 May 2016 MARINE POLLUTION FROM SEABED ACTIVITIES - CROATIAN LIABILITY REGIME Prof. Dr. Dorotea Ćorić Faculty of Law, University of Rijeka 1

OFFSHORE INTERESTS IN CROATIA Framework Plan and Programme of the Offshore Explaration and Production of Hydrocarbons in the Adriatic Sea (2014) → 28 exploration blocks of surfaces from 892 to 1.907 km2 → first offshore licence round → granted 10 licences for exploration (2015)→ no signed Production Sharing Agreement 2

LEGAL FRAMEWORK (offshore activities) Includes various acts covering different aspects of the offshore activities – (e.g.licensing, emergency plans, safety, operational and pollution prevention standards, environmental protection, etc.) Does NOT include any specific provisions covering the liability issue! Mining Act Act on Exploration and Production of Hydrocarbons Act on the Safety of Platforms Decree on the Main Tehnical Requirements on Safety and Security of Offshore Exploration and Production of Hydrocarbons in the Adriatic Sea As you can see from slide, the new legal framework covers different aspects of offshore activities, but does not address the question of liability and compensation for pollution damege caused by offshore activities. 3

International conventions of relevance for offshore activities UNCLOS - obligations of states in regulating offshore activities, MARPOL – operational and pollution prevention standards, OPRC Convention – emergency plans, Barcelona Convention (Offshore Protocol) – regional cooperation Liability Conventions (liability for ship source pollution) - CLC/Fund Conventions - Bunker Convention 4

Production Sharing Agreement ... the Contractor is entirely and solely responsible in law towards third parties and shall compensate for any damage or loss which the Contractor, its employees or sub-contractors and their employees may cause to the person, the property or the rights of other persons, caused by or resulting from Petroleum Operations, including any environmental damage....(Production Sharing Agreement, 33.1.1.) 5

OFFSHORE OBJECTS - Offshore petroleum operations are carried out on the seabed from the platform and/or vessel for drilling. - Platforms are, according to maritime regulation, tehnical vessels (mobile units) or fixed offshore structure. (art. 3 and 4. Decree on Main Tehnical ...) 6

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(property damage and loss of profit) I. Law applicable to third-party claims for traditional damage (property damage and loss of profit) MOBILE UNITS - Maritime Code Could we apply MC to offshore activities not directly involving ships??? FIXED OFFSHORE STRUCTURE – Obligations Act strict or fault based liability ??? oil and gas operations “dangerous activity”, offshore structure “dangerous thing” ??? unlimited liability !!! II. Law applicable to environmental damage (damage to the environment and costs of preventive measures, clean-up costs, sampling costs,...) MOBILE UNITS AND FIXED OFFSHORE STRUCTURE Environmental Protection Act Contingency Plan for Accidental Marine Pollution in the Republic of Croatia 8

Call for action at the national level to provide a single integrated liability regime for pollution damage caused by offshore activities the latter could be shaped along the following lines – strict-based liability, no channelling of liability, joint and separate liability of various parties who contribute to the offshore risk, no limitation on liability, financial coverage for offshore related-risks 9

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENTION ! 10