Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Act 2015

1. Definitions

1. In this Act—

“Act of 1999” means Electricity Regulation Act 1999;

“Act of 2010” means Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Act 2010.

2. Interpretation - Part IIA of Act of 1999

2. The following is substituted for section 13A (inserted by the Act of 2010) of the Act of 1999:

“13A. (1) In this Part—

‘Act of 1960’ means Petroleum and Other Minerals Development Act 1960;

‘Act of 1968’ means Continental Shelf Act 1968;

‘Act of 1976’ means Gas Act 1976;

‘accepted safety case’ means a safety case in respect of a designated petroleum activity or activities which has been accepted by the Commission under this Part and includes any revision made to a safety case which—

(a) may take effect without prior acceptance by the Commission, or

(b) has been accepted by the Commission;

‘combined operation’ means a designated petroleum activity carried out from an installation with another installation for purposes related to the other installation which thereby materially affects the risks to the safety of persons or the protection of the environment on any or all of the installations;

‘Commission’ means Commission for Energy Regulation;

‘competent authority’ means Commission;

‘contact points’ means the body or authority appointed by another Member State without offshore oil and gas operations under its jurisdiction for the purposes of exchanging information with competent authorities in other Member States;

‘contractor’ means any entity contracted by an operator or owner to perform any activity on behalf of the operator or owner;

‘Court’ means High Court;

‘decommissioning’, in relation to petroleum infrastructure, means taking the facility, structure or installation, or any part of such facility, structure or installation, permanently out of use with a view to its abandonment in situ or removal;

‘designated area’ means an area designated by order under section 2 of the Act of 1968;

‘designated petroleum activity’ means a petroleum activity which is designated by regulations under section 13D;

‘Directive’ means Directive 2013/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 2013 [^2];

‘Environmental Liability Regulations’ means European Communities (Environmental Liability) Regulations 2008 (S.I. No. 547 of 2008) (as amended by the European Communities (Environmental Liability) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 307 of 2011));

‘established petroleum activity’ means a designated petroleum activity which immediately before 22 May 2010 was being carried out by a petroleum undertaking and continued to be carried on after 22 May 2010 by a petroleum undertaking;

‘European Union Offshore Oil and Gas Authorities Group’ means the forum set up under Commission Decision (2012/C18/07) of 19 January 2012[^3];

‘exclusive economic zone’, ‘internal waters’ and ‘territorial seas’ have the meanings assigned to them, respectively, by Part 3 of the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006;

‘foreshore’ has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Foreshore Act 1933;

‘installation’ means the class of petroleum infrastructure which includes a stationary, fixed or mobile facility, or combination of facilities permanently inter-connected by bridges or other structures, used for carrying out activities or in connection with such activities;

‘licensed area’ means the whole or any part of—

(a) the State, including the internal waters and the territorial seas, and

(b) a designated area,

in respect of which a petroleum authorisation is in force;

‘major accident’ means, in relation to petroleum infrastructure or petroleum activities—

(a) an event involving an explosion, fire, loss of well control, or release of oil, gas or dangerous substances involving, or with a significant potential to cause, fatalities or serious personal injury,

(b) an event leading to serious damage of petroleum infrastructure involving, or with a significant potential to cause, fatalities or serious personal injury,

(c) any other event leading to fatalities or serious injury to multiple persons, or

(d) any major environmental incident resulting from incidents referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) and which relates to petroleum activities carried out offshore;

‘major accident hazard’ means a hazard that if realised could result in a major accident;

‘major environmental incident’ means an incident which results, or is likely to result, in significant adverse effects on the environment in accordance with the Environmental Liability Regulations;

‘non-production installation’ means the class of installation involved in carrying out offshore petroleum exploration or other designated petroleum activity or activities whilst stationed in the licensed area, but does not include installations involved in production of petroleum;

‘offshore’ means situated in the territorial seas, the exclusive economic zone or a designated area;

‘operator’ means the entity appointed under section 13KA(1) to conduct designated petroleum activities including managing and controlling the functions of petroleum infrastructure (except non- production installations) in carrying out petroleum activities;

‘owner’ means a person entitled to control the operation of a non-production installation;

‘petroleum’ includes—

(a) any mineral oil or relative hydrocarbon and natural gas and other liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons and their derivatives or constituent substances existing in its natural condition in strata (including, without limitation, distillate, condensate, casinghead gasoline and other substances that are ordinarily produced from oil and gas wells), and

(b) any other substance contained in oil and natural gas brought to the surface with them in the normal process of extraction,

but does not include coal and bituminous shales and other stratified deposits from which oil can be extracted by distillation;

‘petroleum authorisation’ means any one or more of the following:

(a) an exploration licence granted under section 8 of the Act of 1960;

(b) a petroleum prospecting licence granted under section 9 of the Act of 1960;

(c) a reserved area licence granted under section 19 of the Act of 1960;

(d) a lease undertaking granted under section 10 of the Act of 1960;

(e) a petroleum lease granted under section 13 of the Act of 1960;

(f) a consent given under section 40 of the Act of 1976;

‘petroleum incident’ means an event or occurrence in, at or in the precincts of petroleum infrastructure which is an event or occurrence of a class prescribed by regulations made by the Commission under section 13V and includes all major accidents;

‘petroleum infrastructure’ means any facility, structure or installation which is or has been established, maintained or operated, or is intended to be established, for the purpose of carrying on a petroleum activity and includes onshore and offshore facilities, installations and structures or a combination of such facilities, installations and structures;

‘petroleum undertaking’ means a person to whom a petroleum authorisation has been given or granted;

‘processing’, in relation to petroleum, means the treatment of unprocessed or partially processed petroleum at a processing plant or terminal or offshore processing installation;

‘published in the prescribed manner’, in relation to any document or information (howsoever described), means—

(a) published on a relevant internet website, or

(b) available for inspection, at the offices of the Commission and at all reasonable times, by members of the public;

‘relevant internet website’ means the internet website of the Commission (including part of such a website)—

(a) to which access is readily available by members of the public, and

(b) where anything published on the website is readily available for inspection by members of the public;

‘revised safety case’ means a safety case submitted for review under section 13N;

‘safety case’ means a document, in accordance with the safety case guidelines, describing the components of the safety management system relating to the designated petroleum activity concerned, or the safety and environmental management system with respect to designated petroleum activities carried out offshore (and all petroleum infrastructure associated with carrying out that designated petroleum activity);

‘safety case guidelines’ means guidelines prepared under section 13L;

‘safety framework’ means the risk-based petroleum safety framework established under section 13I;

‘safety permit’ means a permit issued under section 13P;

‘tripartite consultation’ means a formal arrangement established by the Commission under section 13H(2) (h) to enable dialogue and cooperation between the Commission, operators and owners, and workers’ representatives;

‘upstream pipeline’ means so much of any pipeline (including the subsea and onshore sections) operated or constructed—

(a) as part of a petroleum production project, or

(b) for the purpose of conveying unprocessed petroleum from one or more than one such project to a processing plant or terminal or final coastal landing terminal.

(2) (a) In this Part, ‘petroleum activity’ includes any activity referred to in paragraph (b) —

(i) that is authorised to be carried on under or in connection with a petroleum authorisation,

(ii) which is carried on from, by means of or on, or for purposes connected with, any petroleum infrastructure, and

(iii) which is carried on in a licensed area.

(b) The activities referred to in paragraph (a) include, but are not limited to, the following:

(i) petroleum exploration activities carried on under any one or more of the authorisations referred to in paragraphs (a) to (d) of the definition of ‘petroleum authorisation’ in subsection (1) and in respect of which petroleum infrastructure for the drilling of exploration wells in the seabed or subsoil is intended to be established, maintained or operated;

(ii) petroleum extraction activities carried on under an authorisation referred to in paragraph (e) of the definition of ‘petroleum authorisation’ in subsection (1) and in respect of which petroleum infrastructure for the drilling of wells as part of a petroleum field plan of development and the subsequent extraction, and processing of petroleum, and offshore storage and loading of petroleum is intended to be established, maintained or operated;

(iii) activities relating to the conveyance of unprocessed, partially processed or fully processed petroleum by subsea pipelines or vessels and petroleum infrastructure, including the onshore section of any subsea pipeline carried on pursuant to an authorisation referred to in paragraph (f) of the definition of ‘petroleum authorisation’ in subsection (1) ;

(iv) activities relating to the processing of petroleum at a petroleum processing plant or terminal, offshore installation or other similar facility carried on under the terms and conditions of an authorisation referred to in paragraph (e) of the definition of ‘petroleum authorisation’ in subsection (1) ;

(v) activities relating to the decommissioning of petroleum infrastructure.

(3) Any reference in this Part to a petroleum activity or a designated petroleum activity includes, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference to the establishment, maintenance or operation of any petroleum infrastructure for the purpose of carrying on the petroleum activity or designated petroleum activity.

(4) A word or expression that is used in this Part and is also used in the Directive has, unless the contrary intention appears, the same meaning in this Part as it has in the Directive.”.

3. Competent authority

3. The following is inserted after section 13G (inserted by the Act of 2010) of the Act of 1999:

“13GA. (1) The Commission is appointed as the competent authority in the State for the purposes of Article 8 of the Directive.

(2) The principal objective of the Commission in exercising its functions as competent authority is the effective safety regulatory oversight of operator and owner compliance with this Part in reducing the risk and potential consequences (including major environmental incidents) of major accidents offshore to a level that is as low as is reasonably practicable.

(3) The Commission shall—

(a) monitor and enforce compliance by operators and owners with their obligations under this Part with respect to safety;

(b) regularly exchange knowledge, information and experience with other competent authorities in other Member States, inter alia, through the European Union Offshore Oil and Gas Authorities Group;

(c) prepare and submit an annual report to the European Commission;

(d) co-operate with other competent authorities and contact points under Article 27 of the Directive;

(e) establish mechanisms for—

(i) the confidential reporting of safety and environmental concerns relating to offshore designated petroleum activities from any source, and

(ii) the appropriate investigation of such reports while maintaining the anonymity of the individuals concerned;

(f) prepare and send to the European Commission a report of the summary findings of any investigation of petroleum incidents which resulted in an offshore major accident, at the conclusion of the investigation or at the conclusion of the legal proceedings with respect to the petroleum incident as appropriate;

(g) operate in accordance with the requirements of this Act and Annex III to the Directive.

(4) Where the Commission considers that a major accident hazard relating to designated petroleum activities to be carried out offshore is likely to have significant effects on the environment in another Member State, the Commission shall, prior to making its decision under section 13P(1) to accept a safety case or a revised safety case, forward the relevant information to the competent authority of the potentially affected Member State. The Commission shall endeavour, jointly with the competent authority of that Member State, to adopt measures to prevent damage without prejudice to its regulatory functions.

(5) The Commission may—

(a) advise the Minister on matters relating to the functions and obligations of the competent authority;

(b) request a petroleum undertaking, operator or owner to provide a report on the circumstances of any major accident in which they have been involved, either themselves or through subsidiaries outside of the European Union. The report shall be in such form, provided in such timeframe, and accompanied by such additional information and particulars as may be determined by the Commission.”.

4. Functions of Commission relating to petroleum safety

4.The following is substituted for section 13H of the Act of 1999:

“13H. (1) The Commission shall do all things necessary and reasonable to further its objectives and shall exercise its powers and perform its functions in the public interest.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Commission’s functions under this Part are—

(a) to regulate designated petroleum activities with respect to safety, which may include specifying standards and codes of practice referred to in section 13L(3),

(b) subject to sections 13S to 13U, to investigate and report to the Minister in writing on petroleum incidents,

(c) to monitor and enforce compliance by petroleum undertakings, operators and owners with their obligations under this Part,

(d) to issue safety permits,

(e) to provide safety information to the public when appropriate,

(f) to assess, and where relevant accept or reject, safety cases and notifications submitted by operators and owners under this Part,

(g) to carry out the objectives of the competent authority as set out in section 13GA,

(h) to establish a mechanism for tripartite consultation on—

(i) the safety framework established under section 13I,

(ii) the safety case guidelines under section 13L,

(iii) matters set out in Annex VI to the Directive, and

(iv) any other matter considered necessary by the Commission.

(3) The Commission shall, in performing its functions under this Part, have regard to—

(a) such functions with respect to the safety of petroleum activities as may be performed by the persons specified in subsection (4),

(b) the need to co-operate and consult with the persons specified in subsection (4) for the purpose of—

(i) encouraging and fostering safety in the carrying on of petroleum activities, and

(ii) avoiding duplication of activities by the Commission and the persons specified in subsection (4).

(4) The following are the persons to whom paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (3) apply:

(a) the National Standards Authority of Ireland;

(b) the Health and Safety Authority;

(c) the Environmental Protection Agency;

(d) the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport;

(e) the Irish Aviation Authority;

(f) such other persons as may be prescribed by order by the Minister.

(5) Where necessary, the Commission may prepare and implement coordinated or joint procedures with other authorities, specified in subsection (4), to carry out its functions under this Part.

(6) The Commission shall—

(a) make annual plans for the purpose of carrying out its function to monitor and enforce compliance under subsection (2)(c),

(b) provide advice on any matter requested by the Minister—

(i) under section 9A(3) of the Act of 1960 to support the Minister’s consideration of the technical capability of a person under that section, and

(ii) on the technical capacity of any operator proposed by a petroleum undertaking to the Minister,

and

(c) inform the Minister immediately in circumstances where it determines that an operator no longer has the capacity to meet its obligations under this Part.

(7) Subsections (3), (4) and (5) of section 9 do not apply to the functions of the Commission under this Part.”.

5. Emergency preparedness

5.The following is inserted after section 13H (inserted by the Act of 2010) of the Act of 1999:

“13HA. The Commission may—

(a) at its own behest or following consultation with other agencies, direct operators and owners to conduct tests or exercises on their preparedness to respond effectively to major accidents, and

(b) where a petroleum undertaking assumes the responsibility for the discharge of operator responsibility under section 9B(2) or (4) of the Act of 1960, take, or direct the petroleum undertaking to take, adequate measures to ensure the continuing safety of designated petroleum activities up to and including prohibiting designated petroleum activities taking place.”.

6. Petroleum safety framework

6.Section 13I (inserted by the Act of 2010) of the Act of 1999 is amended—

(a) by substituting for subsection (1) the following: