The Offshore Installations (Safety Zones) (No. 2) Order 2020

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

Article 2 of this Order establishes, under section 22 of the Petroleum Act 1987 (c. 12) (“the Act”), safety zones having a radius of 500 metres from the specified point around the 11 installations (which are subsea installations) specified in the Schedule to this Order stationed, or to be stationed, in waters to which section 21(7) of that Act applies (these include territorial waters and waters in areas designated under section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964 (c. 29)).

An automatic safety zone is currently established around each of the installations known respectively as Amethyst A1D, Amethyst A2D, Amethyst B1D and Amethyst C1D. It is intended that each of these installations will be dismantled by 31st December 2025. In accordance with section 21(3) of the Act, an automatic safety zone will cease to apply to an installation where, relevantly for these purposes, an order made under section 22 of the Act applies. In order to maintain a safety zone around these installations as they are dismantled, the automatic safety zones will be replaced and replicated by the safety zones established by this Order.

Section 23(1) of the Act prohibits vessels, which for these purposes include hovercraft, submersible apparatus and installations in transit, from entering or remaining in a safety zone except with the consent of the Health and Safety Executive or in accordance with regulations made under section 23(1) of the Act (currently regulation 21H of the Offshore Installations and Pipeline Works (Management and Administration) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/738), inserted by paragraph 14 of Schedule 13 to S.I. 2015/398).

It is estimated that the installation specified in the table in Part 2 of the Schedule (Elgood Wellhead) will arrive at its station at the earliest by January 2021.

Article 3 amends the Offshore Installations (Safety Zones) (No.2) Order 2019 (S.I. 2019/116) to omit, from Part 2 of the Schedule to that Order, the reference to Well WPOZ.