No abstract

In 2001, the Norwegian Clean Seas Association For Operating Companies (NOFO) completed a three year R&D-program for development of a dynamic, risk based oil spill response regime for the entire Norwegian continental shelf, including coastal areas and the shoreline. A central element of the new regime is an oil spill contingency planning system, where all relevant information are made fully available on the Internet. The web based Oil Spill Contingency Planning System (OSCPS) has proved to be an important and useful result of the project, and the responses from authorities as well as stakeholders have been positive. The system contains guidelines and standards that have been adopted by the industry, resulting in standardized and comparable site specific analyses. In addition to the information available on the Internet, a suite of Geographical Information System (GIS) tools have been developed and made available for all NOFO member companies. These tools have proved useful in analyses, training and desktop exercises. This paper provides an overview and highlights of our new OSCPS and Geographical Information System (GIS) tools, presenting examples of use and lessons learned. The paper also presents the responses from authorities and stakeholders to this open and transparent approach.

In 1998, the Norwegian Clean Seas Association for Operating Companies (NOFO) initiated the development of a regional system for oil spill contingency and emergency response plans. Pollution Control Authority (SFT). The geographical extent, information content and range of tools applied are significant. NOFOs system will be further refined and developed throughout the year 2000, with a schedule for full implementation by the second quarter of year 2001.

The Norwegian Clean Seas Association for Operating Companies (NOFO) is responsible for oil spill response, planning and preparedness on behalf of the companies who are operating on the Norwegian continental shelf. The responsibility includes initial response offshore, as well as coastal protection and shoreline clean up. NOFO is working out a plan for regional oil spill preparedness to be implemented in 2001. The plan is based on risk assessment and covers planned oil production activities in the Norwegian offshore sector. Previously, NOFOs oil spill response plan was based on Authority requirements and recognised standards. NOFO is now proposing a risk-based approach, aiming to identify the need for oil spill response in different areas of the Norwegian sector. The new approach is based on: Estimated probability of oil spill situations, dimensioning oil spill scenarios, and oil drift modelling to define arrival time to shore, coastal areas at risk, and amount of oil that may possibly reach the shore. The risk based approach is an alternative to traditional "worst case" considerations and allows implementation of more cost-effective measures.