Adopting Green Practices in Response to Oil Spills in Three Regions: the Black Sea

1. Adopting Green Practices in Response to Oil Spills in Three Regions: the Black Sea Dr. Nilufer Oral Istanbul Bilgi University Law School Commission on Environmental Law Oceans, Coasts and Coral Reefs Specialist Group 7 September 2012 Jeju IUCN World Conservation Congress I

2. Offshore oil activities

3. Deepwater Horizon • “Complex Systems Almost Always Fail in Complex Ways” • Columbia Space Shuttle Investigation Board (quoted in Deepwater Horizon report)

4. Deepwater Horizon • 20 April 2010 Deepwater Horizon Gulf ofMexico oil spill is the worst environmentaldisaster in US history and the largest oil spill in US territorial waters. between 24-to 38 million gallons of oil have spilled • 15 million gallons of oil andwater mix have been recovered. • Polluted about 140 miles of shoreline in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi,along with approximately 80 miles in Florida. • 17 500 National Guard troopsauthorized for deployment (CNN, 2010). • 2600 vessels involved with thecleanup, • 4.4 million feet of sorbent and containment boom vessels have been deployed(with another 2.9 million feet of boom available), • over 1 million gallons of dispersant havebeen used, • 20 000 people working aroundthe clock to protect Gulf Coast water and coastlines. During the peak of the Exxon Valdez • cleanup 10 000 workers, 1000 boats, and 100 airplanes and helicopters. • Promoting Ecological Sustainability and [Community Resilience in the US Gulf Coastafter the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, JASON K. LEVY* & CHENNAT GOPALAKRISHNAN]

5. Black Sea

6. Black Sea Characteristics • Semi-enclosed sea • An anoxic sea: Very little oxygen • Sea of poison: The marine life of the Black Sea is supported by a narrow layer of surface water, (100-200 meters)underneath which a 2000 meter column of hydrogen sulphide prevents the sustainability of marine life at lower depths. • Danger of “turn over” of the hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea would be disastrous • “Extreme life” in the depths of the Black Sea “miobenthos” • Six Coastal States • Surface area 436,402 km 2 • Max depth: 2,212 m

7. Black Sea • One of the most anoxic seas in the world- 90% of the sea is without oxygen • “Sea of poison”-Largest body of hydrogen sulphide • Most of the Black Sea is ‘dead” • Marine life is supported on a thin surface layer of the sea • One of the most eutrophicated seas in the world • Danube River accounts for 40% of nutrient input (transboundary pollution)

8. Black Sea

9. Black Sea • $4 billion invested in drilling offshore in Turkish Black Sea (no results) • Pressure problem experienced (= Deepwater Horizon explosion.) TPAO ordered new adaptor and installed it with robots! • = risky operations in the Black Sea • Ukraine is accepting bids for oil and natural gas exploration in Skifska and Foroska offshore fields on the Black Sea coast, the Financial Times reported, citing unidentified officials. • Ukraine expects bids from international energy groups in the next two months, according to the FT. • (June 6, 2012)

10. Offshore Activities • 1. Environmental Impact? • 2. Operational pollution • Emissions • Waste, sludge • Disposal of offshore installations • 3. Accidental • Prevention • Response • Liability/compensation

11. Regional Legal Framework for Offshore Activities in the Black Sea • 1996 Bucharest Convention obligation to , adopt laws and regulations, and take measures to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment of the Black Sea caused by or connected with activities on its continental shelf, including the exploration and exploitation of the natural resources of the continental shelf, and to co-operate in harmonization of such laws • Regional Emergency Contingency Plan, 2009 • Emergency Response Protocol (weak) • NO Offshore Activities instrument • NO instrument on transport of hazardous substances • NO REMPEC for the Black Sea

12. Comparison: Mediterranean Sea Regional Framework • Prevention and Emergency Protocol ( 2004) • Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) • Hazardous Wastes Protocol, Izmir • Offshore Protocol (2010) • Offshore Protocol, 2010 • operation and removal of offshore installations • set of mandatory “common” regional standards for the authorization of offshore activities on the continental shelf and seabed and its subsoil that include conducting prior impact assessments and preparing contingency plans. • requires the Parties to formulate common standards for the disposal of oily mixtures from offshore installations • required to remove all unused or abandoned installations taking into account IMO guidelines • includes a provision on special protected areas in which the Parties are required to adopt special measures to prevent, abate, combat and control pollution • co-operation requiring the Parties to co-operate in a range of issues including • Scientific and technological research, • Establishing international rules, standards, practices and procedures, • Harmonization of their laws, • Providing technical and capacity building assistance to developing countries, • Notification in the case of transboundary pollution, and • Formulation of rules and procedures for liability and compensation in the case of a pollution incident

13. Gaps • Need for regional protocol? • Need for an international framework? • IDDRI Report “Towards an international regulation of offshore oil exploitation (2012)