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Regulations Of The People's Republic Of China On The Administration Of Environmental Protection In The Exploration And Development Of Offshore Petroleum

Updated: 2013-04-23

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Article 1 These Regulations are formulated in order to implement the Marine Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China and prevent pollution damage to marine environment resulting from offshore petroleum exploration and development.

Article 2 These Regulations are applicable to enterprises, institutions, operators and individuals engaged in the exploration and development of petroleum in the sea areas under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China, and the stationary and mobile platforms and other relevant facilities they use.

Article 3 The departments in charge of environmental protection in exploration and development of offshore petroleum are the State Oceanographic Bureau of the People's Republic of China and its agencies, hereinafter referred to as the “competent departments”.

Article 4 Enterprises or operators, while compiling the overall programs for developing oil (gas) fields, must compile a marine environmental impact report and submit it to the Ministry of Urban and Rural Construction and Environmental Protection of the People's Republic of China. The Ministry of Urban and Rural Construction and Environmental Protection, in conjunction with the State Oceanographic Bureau and the Ministry of Petroleum Industry, is to organize examination and approval in accordance with the stipulations governing the administration of environmental protection over the projects of state capital construction.

Article 5 The marine environmental impact report shall include the following:

(1) the name, geographical position and size of the oil field;

(2) the natural environment and the conditions of marine resources of the sea areas where the oil field is located;

(3) the types, composition, amount and the means of disposal of the waste materials to be discharged in developing the oil field;

(4) an assessment of the impact on the marine environment; the possible impact from development of offshore petroleum on the natural environmental and marine resources of the surrounding sea areas; the possible impact on the sea fishery, shipping and other sea activities; measures for environmental protection to be adopted to avoid and reduce various types of harmful impact;

(5) the impact that cannot be avoided in the final outcome and the graveness and causes of the impact;

(6) measures for preventing major oil pollution accidents: the organization of prevention, provision of personnel, technical equipment and communications and liaison.

Article 6 Enterprises, institutions and operators shall have the capacity of dealing with emergencies with regard to the prevention and control of oil pollution accidents, formulate emergency plans, have oil-recovery facilities and equipment for containing oil and eliminating oil commensurate with the scale of exploration and development of offshore petroleum in which they are engaged.

If oil-eliminating chemical agents are to be used, their brand names and composition shall be reported to the competent departments for verification and approval.

Article 7 The requirements for the pollution-prevention equipment of the stationary and mobile platforms are:

(1) oil and water separation equipment shall be fitted;

(2) the oil extraction platforms shall be fitted with the equipment for treating oil-polluted water; the oil content of the polluted water, after treatment by this equipment, shall reach the discharge standards set by the State;

(3) devices for monitoring and control of oil discharge shall be fitted;

(4) facilities for retrieving residual oil and waste oil shall be fitted;

(5) equipment for garbage pulverization shall be fitted;

(6) the above equipment shall go through the examination by the shipping inspection agencies of the People's Republic of China and must satisfy the standards before efficacy certificates are issued.

Article 8 The stationary and mobile platforms that already started petroleum exploration and development in the sea areas under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China before March 1, 1983, if their pollution- prevention equipment do not meet the stipulated requirements, shall adopt effective measures to prevent pollution, and their pollution-prevention facilities are to satisfy the stipulated requirements within three years of the promulgation of these Regulations.

Article 9 The enterprises, institutions and operators shall possess civil liability insurance or other financial guarantees to cover pollution damage.

Article 10 The stationary and mobile platforms shall be fitted with anti-pollution record books in the format approved by the competent departments.

Article 11 The oil-polluted water of stationary and mobile platforms may not be directly discharged or after dilution. The oil content of the oil-polluted water discharged after treatment must meet the State's relevant standards of discharging oil-polluted water.

Article 12 Requirements of control for other waste materials:

(1) residual oil, waste oil, oil-based mud, garbage containing oil and other toxic residual liquid and dregs must be recovered, and may not be discharged or cast off into the sea;

(2) the dumping of industrial garbage in large quantities is to be managed in accordance with the stipulations of marine dumping of waste materials; fragmentary industrial garbage may not be discarded into the fishery waters and sea-lanes;

(3) domestic garbage that need to be discharged within 12 nautical miles from the nearest land shall undergo pulverization treatment with the granules less than 25 millimeters in diameter.

Article 13 Where exploration and development of offshore petroleum require explosive demolitions by using explosives or other operations that are harmful to fishery resources in the important fishery waters, effective measures shall be adopted to avoid the spawning, breeding and fishing seasons of the major fishes and shrimps of economic value; a report is to be made to the competent departments before the operations and there shall be clear signs and signals when the operations are under way.

The competent departments, on receiving the report, shall notify the relevant units of the place and time of the operations in good time.

Article 14 Marine oil storage facilities and pipelines for the conveyance of oil shall conform to anti-seepage, anti-leakage and anti-rotting requirements, and shall constantly be checked and maintained in good condition, so as to prevent oil leakage.

Article 15 In testing oil on the sea, oil and gas shall be fully burned out in the combustion devices. With regard to the oils and oil-based mixtures falling into the sea in the course of testing oil, effective measures shall be adopted to treat them, and accurate records are to be kept.

Article 16 Enterprises, institutions and operators shall, immediately upon detection of the occurrence of pollution accidents such as oil overflow and oil leakage in operation, adopt measures for containing oil and oil recovery to control, reduce and remove the pollution. In case of occurrence of major pollution accidents such as oil overflow, oil leakage and well blowout in large quantities, report shall immediately be made to the competent departments, and effective measures are to be adopted to control and remove the oil pollution, and the matter shall be subject to investigation and handling by the competent departments.

Article 17 The use of oil-eliminating chemical agents shall be controlled:

(1) When oil pollution accidents occur, measures for recovery shall be adopted; with regard to the small amount of oil that is actually beyond recovery, it is permitted to use a small amount of oil-eliminating chemical agents.

(2) With regard to the amount of irretrievable oil-eliminating chemical agents (including the solvent) to be used, separate specific stipulations shall be worked out by the competent departments according to different conditions in different sea areas. The operators shall report to the competent departments according to stipulations, and may only use these chemical agents after approval has been obtained.

(3) In emergencies where oil floating on the surface of the sea may cause fire or may gravely endanger human lives and property, and the matter is unable to be handled with the method of recovery, but, by using oil- eliminating chemical agents, pollution can be reduced and the consequences of the accidents be contained, the amount of oil-eliminating chemical agents used and the reporting procedures may go beyond the restrictions as stipulated in paragraph (2) of this Article. However, a detailed report on the circumstances of the accident and the circumstances of using oil- eliminating agents shall be made to the competent departments afterwards.

(4) Only those oil-eliminating chemical agents which have been verified and approved by the competent departments may be used.

Article 18 The operators shall make detailed and accurate entries of the following circumstances in the anti-pollution record books of the platform;

(1) the operation of the anti-pollution equipment and facilities;

(2) the treatment and discharge of the oil-polluted water;

(3) the treatment, discharge and disposal of other waste materials;

(4) the occurrence of oil-pollution accidents such as oil spill, oil leakage and well blowout and the handling;

(5) the details about the demolition operations;

(6) details about the use of oil-eliminating chemical agents;

(7) other items stipulated by the competent departments.

Article 19 The enterprises and operators shall, within 15 days from the end of each quarter of the year, make a comprehensive report in the format approved by the competent departments on anti-pollution and the circumstances of pollution accidents of that quarter. The competent departments shall be informed in good time of the positions of the stationery and mobile platforms.

Article 20 Government functionaries of the competent departments or the personnel designated by them have the right to board the stationery and mobile platforms and other relevant facilities to conduct monitoring and investigation, including:

(1) collecting various kinds of samples;

(2) inspecting the fitting out, operating and using of various anti- pollution equipment, facilities and materials;

(3) inspecting relevant documents and certification papers;

(4) checking up on the anti-pollution record books and the relevant operation records, making copies and extracts when necessary, and demanding that the responsible persons of the platform sign their names in confirmation of the copies and extracts in question as correct duplicates;

(5) gathering information about pollution accidents among the persons concerned;

(6) other related matters.

Article 21 The ships that conduct official business of the competent departments shall have clear signs. Government functionaries or the designated personnel, in carrying out official affairs, must wear official uniforms and carry identity papers.

Those who are investigated shall provide facility for the aforesaid ships, government functionaries and the designated personnel, and provide accurate information and statements about the accidents.

Article 22 Units and individuals that have suffered pollution damage caused by exploration and development of offshore petroleum and are to claim compensation shall, in accordance with the stipulation of Article 32 of the Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China and the stipulation of Article 42 of the Marine Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, apply for handling to the competent departments and claim compensation for the losses from the party that is responsible for the pollution damage. The claimant shall submit a report on claiming compensation for damage sustained; this report shall include the following:

(1) the time, place, scope and the objects of the pollution damage caused by the exploration and development of offshore petroleum;

(2) a detailed list of the losses caused by pollution damage, including the names of objects, quantity, unit price, method of calculating, and such matters as the breeding or natural conditions;

(3) an appraisal by the relevant scientific research department or endorsement by a notary office in confirmation of the damage actually sustained;

(4) the original documents of evidence of the pollution damage, the photographs of the related circumstances and other documents and materials of testimony relevant to the claim for compensation shall be provided as complete as possible.

Article 23 Units and individuals (those having commercial contracts excluded) that demand reimbursement of the expenses for removing pollutants stemming from the exploration and development of offshore petroleum shall, in applying to the competent departments for attention to the case, submit a report of claiming reimbursement of the expenses for removal to the competent departments. This report shall include the following:

(2) the manpower, machines and tools and vessels employed, and the quantities, the unit price and the method of calculating of the materials used in effecting the removal;

(3) the administrative expenses, transport cost, and other relevant expenses in organizing the removal effort;

(4) the results of and the situation after the removal;

(5) other relevant evidence and certification papers.

Article 24 Where devastating pollution accidents have occurred due to force majeur, the enterprises, institutions and operators wishing to free themselves from the indemnity liabilities thereof shall submit to the competent departments a report which must be able to testify that the damage resulting from the pollution accident falls under one of the circumstances described in Article 43 of the Marine Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, and that the accident remained unavoidable despite rational measures promptly taken.

Article 25 In handling cases of disputes concerning liability for compensation and the amount of compensation for the pollution damage in the exploration and development of offshore petroleum, the competent departments shall, on the basis of investigation and finding out the facts, resort to mediation.

If a party does not want mediation or does not agree to handling of the matter through mediation by the competent departments, the matter may be handled in accordance with the stipulation of Article 42 of the Marine Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China.

Article 26 Where enterprises, institutions and operators violate the Marine Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China and these Regulations, the competent departments may order that they take remedial measures to rectify the situation within a given period of time, pay the removal costs, and compensate the State for the damage; in cases of discharge of pollutants in excess of the standard, the payment of a pollutant discharge fee may be demanded.

Article 27 In cases where enterprises, institutions, operators and individuals violate the Marine Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China and these Regulations, the competent departments may punish the violators by giving warnings or imposing fines according to the seriousness of the case.

Fines fall into the following categories:

(1) The maximum amount of a fine imposed on an enterprise, institution or operator that has caused marine environmental pollution is 100,000 RMB yuan.

(2) The maximum amount of a fine imposed on an enterprise, institution and operator that has contravened the relevant rules and regulations in the following ways is 5,000 RMB yuan:

a. not reporting a major oil-pollution accident to the competent departments according to stipulations;

b. using oil-eliminating chemical agents not according to stipulations.

(3) The maximum amount of a fine imposed on an enterprise, institution or operator that has contravened the relevant rules and regulations in the following ways is 1,000 RMB yuan:

a. not having the anti-pollution record book equipped according to stipulations;

b. the entries in the anti-pollution record book are irregular or false;

c. not reporting to or informing the competent departments of their real situation according to stipulations;

d. obstructing the government functionaries or the designated personnel from performing their official duties.

(4) With regard to the directly responsible persons, fines may be imposed according to the seriousness of the case.

Article 28 If a party does not agree to the penalty by the competent departments, the matter shall be handled in accordance with the stipulations of Article 41 of the Marine Environmental Law of the People's Republic of China.

Article 29 The competent departments shall grant commendations and rewards to the units and individuals that on their own initiative report and expose enterprises, institutions and operators that have concealed pollution accidents in the exploration and development of offshore petroleum, or provide evidence, or adopt measures to reduce the damage

Article 30 arising therefrom.

(1) “Stationary and mobile platforms” refers to the well drilling ships, well drilling platforms and oil extraction platforms referred to in the Marine Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, and includes other platforms.

(2) “Exploration and development of offshore petroleum” refers to such operational activities as exploration, development, production, storage and pipeline conveyance.

(3) “Operators” refers to the entities that perform the operations of exploration and development of offshore petroleum.

Article 31 These Regulations shall go into effect as of the date of promulgation.