Environmental Statement - Maersk Oil

Balloch Field Development Environmental Statement
Section 2 Proposed Development
The Marine and Coastal Access Act (MCAA) came into force in November 2009. The Act covers all UK
waters except Scottish internal and territorial waters which are covered by the Marine (Scotland) Act
2010 which mirrors the MCAA powers. The licensing provisions in relation to MCAA came into force
on 1 st April 2011.
The marine licensing provisions in Part 4 replace the licensing and consent controls previously
exercised under Part II of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 and Part II of the Coast
Protection Act 1949. The considerations built into these regimes are merged into the new regime
with some modifications. All activities associated with exploration or production / storage operations
that are authorised under the Petroleum Act or Energy Act are exempt from the requirements of
MCAA. Decommissioning operations are not exempt and will require a Marine licence for all
operations, including:
Removal of substances or articles from the seabed;
Disturbance of the seabed, e.g. localised dredging to enable cutting and lifting operations;
Deposit and use of explosives that cannot be covered under an application for a Direction;
Disturbance of the seabed, e.g. disturbance of sediments or cuttings piles by water jetting
during abandonment operations.
The need to apply for an MCAA licence or any future legislative requirement in place will be
considered at the planning stage within the decommissioning schedule.
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