Guidelines for Claimants
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This document is only a brief summary of the key elements
of the OPOL Agreement and Rules and as such must be qualified
by the further details contained in the OPOL Agreement and Rules.
WHAT FACILITIES DOES OPOL COVER?
OPOL covers escapes and discharges of oil from offshore facilities
within the jurisdiction of any State that is specified in the
Agreement. The States currently covered include the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, the Isle of Man and the Faroe Islands but excluding any offshore facility located in the Baltic or Mediterranean seas.
OPOL covers offshore facilities such as wells, drilling units,
platforms, sub-sea developments, offshore storage, production
and loading systems, or pipelines.
OPOL does not cover abandoned wells, installations or pipelines
or those facilities concerned with the production, storage and
treatment of natural gas or natural gas liquids.
WHO MAY MAKE A CLAIM?
Governments, public bodies or authorities (municipal, local
or otherwise) may claim in respect of reasonable remedial measures
taken by them to prevent, mitigate or eliminate pollution damage
or to remove or neutralise oil following an escape or discharge.
Anyone may claim compensation for pollution damage resulting
from an escape or discharge of oil.
WHAT IS AN ADMISSIBLE CLAIM?
Claims for pollution damage and remedial measures may be submitted
to operators for compensation under the Agreement.
Pollution damage is defined in the OPOL Agreement as direct
loss or damage by contamination which results from a discharge
of oil.
Remedial measures means reasonable measures taken by a claimant
to prevent, mitigate or eliminate pollution damage following
a discharge of oil.
Claims to be considered as admissible would fall into the following
categories:
- Clean up operations on shore or at sea.
- Property damage
- Disposal costs of collected material
- Other losses which must be quantifiable and which must result
directly from the contamination itself.
Claims must be reasonable, quantifiable and justifiable.
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