Guidance

Oil and gas: OSPAR EMS recommendation

The recommended environmental management system (EMS) designed to achieve the general objectives of the OSPAR Offshore Strategy.

From:
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning, and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
Published
22 January 2013
Last updated
23 October 2023 — See all updates

Overview

The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (the OSPAR Convention) was opened for signature at the ministerial meeting of the former Oslo and Paris Commissions in Paris on 22 September 1992. The convention entered into force on 25 March 1998 and has since been ratified by the UK in addition to Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland. It has also been approved by the European Community and Spain.

Reporting requirements

In line with the convention and reporting requirements, all operators controlling the operation of offshore installations on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) should have in place an environmental management system (EMS) designed to:

  • achieve the general objectives of the OSPAR Offshore Strategy
  • achieve the environmental goals of the prevention and elimination of pollution from offshore sources and of the protection and conservation of the maritime area against other adverse effects of offshore activities, and
  • maintain continual improvement in environmental performance

The EMS should:

  • be implemented at a strategic level and integrated into corporate plans and policies
  • identify the organisation’s impacts on the environment and set clear objectives and targets to improve its management of these aspects and the organisation’s overall environmental performance
  • be designed to deliver and manage compliance with environmental laws and regulations on an ongoing basis, and to quickly initiate corrective and preventative action in cases of legal non-compliance
  • deliver good resource management
  • incorporate assured performance metrics that demonstrate the above and can be communicated in a transparent manner

Further information about the requirements on operators:

EMS Public statements

Please direct all general enquiries to:

Business Support Team: OPRED@energysecurity.gov.uk

Published 22 January 2013
Last updated 23 October 2023 + show all updates

  1. Addition of 2022 public statements

  2. Public statements relating to 2021 operations added

  3. Addition of link to 'Public statements relating to 2019 operations# publication page

  4. Addition of 'Public statements relating to 2018 operations' to the 'EMS Public statements' section of the page

  5. Addition of the link to the 'Oil and Gas: Public Statements Relating to 2017 Operations' page

  6. Addition of EMS Public Statements for 2016

  7. Public statements relating to 2015 operations - (added)

  8. Public statements relating to 2014 operations - (added)

  9. Oil and gas: Public statements relating to 2013 operations - (added)

  10. Oil and gas: EMS Public statements relating to 2013 operations - (added)

  11. Oil and gas: Public statements relating to 2012 operations - added

  12. First published.

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